The RCI Digital Stage Presents: RICHARD III by William Shakespeare

The greatest villain in literary history climbs The RCI Digital Stage in director Gábor Tompa’s forceful, haunting staging of Shakespeare’s classic dissection of monstruous ambition and insatiable lust for power. Produced by The Hungarian Theater of Cluj together with Gyula Castle Theatre, directed with characteristic visionary assurance and performed with supreme skill by one of Romania’s best theatrical ensembles, this Richard III becomes the bloody spectacle of contemporary follies.

Facebook premiere on Wednesday, December 2 at 8 p.m. New York & Toronto time / 5 p.m. Los Angeles & Vancouver time. The recording will remain available on our page for 24 hours. (Please follow the link to watch.) 

“Shakespeare’s bloodiest play is, paradoxically, also his most performed. The nightmare of power mania seems to be a constant of European culture, and is represented in theatre history in an immense variety, but probably never as tenebrously as in Richard III. Even Shakespeare’s happy ending can be understood as an ironic and devastating metaphor of the perpetuation of power for oneself, a power which is able to revive from its own ashes, a power which is best compared to that of the Mafias’. Excepting children – who, of course, are also killed – there isn’t a single character in this play, be they a murderer or one murdered, a man or a woman, a noble, a prince, or a commoner, who isn’t begrimed with blood. The Duke of Gloucester, who mounted the throne of England as Richard III and enjoys virtually unlimited power, explores the possibility of conquering death by challenging the limits of mankind. Behind the tyrant we see Richard the man, who wishes to surpass his condition of being a mere human being. Is it possible to defeat death by totally identifying with it? This is the question of Richard, who makes his own life the object of a completely tragic experiment in the museum of horrors called history.” - András Visky

RICHARD III

Directed by Gábor Tompa

Dramaturgy by András Visky

Performed in Hungarian with English subtitles

Set and costume design by Carmencita Brojboiu

Original music by Vasile Șirli

Choreography by Florin Fieroiu

Director's assistant: István Albu

Director's and dramaturg's assistant: Noémi Vajna

Masks by Ilona Varga-Járó

Digital media by Zsolt Tofán

Stage manager, prompter: Imola Kerezsy

Cast:

King Edward IV: Miklós Bács

Edward, Prince of Wales: József Nagy

Richard, Duke of York: Bence Visky / Bence Mányoki

Duke of Clarence: András Hatházi

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, afterwards King Richard III: Zsolt Bogdán

Young son of Clarence: Bence Mányoki / Melinda Kántor

Henry, Earl of Richmond, afterwards King Henry VII: András Buzási

Archbishop: Miklós Bács

Bishop of Ely: Szabolcs Balla

Duke of Buckingham: Sándor Keresztes

Sir William Catesby: József Bíró

Earl Rivers, brother of Queen Elizabeth: Ferenc Sinkó

Marquess of Dorset: Balázs Bodolai

Lord Grey: Róbert Laczkó Vass

Lord Hastings: Attila Orbán

Lord Stanley: Lehel Salat

First murderer, Sir Richard Ratcliff: Levente Molnár

Second murderer, sir James Tyrell: Ervin Szűcs

Sir Thomas Vaughan: Alpár Fogarasi

Lieutenant of the Tower: Lóránd Farkas

Lord Mayor of London: Ernő Galló

Citizen: Endre Senkálszky

Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of Edward IV: Imola Kézdi

Margaret of Anjou, widow of Henry VI: Hilda Péter

Duchess of York, mother of King Edward IV, Clarence, and Gloucester: Réka Csutak

Lady Anne, widow of Edward, Prince of Wales: Enikő Györgyjakab

Mrs. Shore: Tünde Skovrán

A co-production of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj and Gyula Castle Theatre