Richard III First Preview — Page 2

I saw the matinee yesterday (boyfriend picked up rush tickets- we were in one of the boxes. For those wondering, it was the left rear- they were sold as partial view, but since we were the back 2 seats, it wasn't that partial. We missed entrances from the SL door, and that's all. Since everything is placed front and center, this isn't an issue).

i found this, overall, the weaker of the two plays. Whereas I adored Twelfth Night and all in it, i found Richard III more uneven and less gratifying. Mark Rylance, who delivered what has become of my favorite performances ever as Olivia, is a very *funny* Richard, but ultimately it's a performance that, for me, can easily be pointed to by detractors. I felt that that the constant humor and overall festive atmosphere undercut the play terribly, and that it did lack a certain "tragic" feeling. I also felt that the ensemble, who each shined so wonderfully in Twelfth Night, all felt secondary to Rylance- it also does not help that their characters are not as individualized as they are in Twelfth Night. For me, Samuel Barnett alone stood out. The rest were overwhelmed by Rylance.

This is not to say I did not enjoy the production. But it was a letdown following the nigh-perfect other production it's coupled with.

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So they are still doing rush, I take it?

Ohhh ok. Cool. Thanks!

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Toward the end, in that great scene when Queen Elizabeth lets Richard have it for killing both her sons AND wanting to marry her daughter, AND asking Elizabeth to woo her for him (!!!), he says, "Bear her my true love's kiss; and so, farewell." And then Elizabeth plants a big, wet kiss on him, that seemingly went on for several seconds. Richard seems shaken after it, and maybe that was Elizabeth's point, but I have to admit that the kiss doesn't make sense to me. It seemed kind of shocking and disgusting, and I couldn't see how a well-bred woman like Elizabeth, coping with ineffable grief, could have done that.

It's an amazing scene, though, worth the price of admission! I think I'm in love with Sam Barnett.

Can anyone explain this to me?

Updated On: 11/4/13 at 09:31 AM

I'm not seeing this until January, but I am still so taken by his Olivia, I think I may end up seeing that at least one more time. I went as a Stephen Fry fan, but Rylance is the performance that haunts, lingers, and enthralls long after the candles were extinguished on the chandelier.

Still excited for Richard III, too. I was already seeing Taymor's Midsummer's Night, and Hawke's Hamlet a few days apart, so I popped this in the middle of them for a thematic Bard Week.

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