On the day that the University of Leicester confirmed that the bones of the last Plantagenet king of England, Richard III, had been found beneath a car park, Nottingham Playhouse announced it will be staging a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III later this year.
Ian Bartholomew, who was in Nottingham Playhouse’s version of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui in autumn 2011, will play Richard III in the production which the Playhouse will be staging in partnership with York Theatre Royal.
Giles Croft, Nottingham Playhouse’s artistic director, explains how the production came about.
“After his superb performance as Brecht’s Arturo Ui, Ian said how much he would like to tackle one of the plays that inspired Brecht’s gripping morality tale, Richard III.
“With such a powerful actor in the title role we were immediately attracted to the idea and confirmed the talented Loveday Ingram as director.
“Our audience, having enjoyed Ian’s performance as Ui, will be fascinated by the many parallels between the two plays, and the chance to compare and contrast the ways two great dramatists depict the corrupting influences of power and personality.”
Bartholomew is relishing the thought of playing another legendary villain and one of the greatest and most thrilling of Shakespeare’s roles.
“The discovery of the bones of Richard III has made the prospect of playing the Machiavellian king even more exciting as the discovery will mean that the public are more aware of his life now than ever.
“Richard III is an irresistible challenge to any actor as he was such a fascinating character with his combination of ambition, cruelty and anger and sheer twisted sense of humour.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to Nottingham Playhouse. The expertise of all involved I’m sure will deliver a production that will be remembered for years to come.”
Richard III will play at Nottingham Playhouse from 25 October until 16 November before transferring to York Theatre Royal.