A very regal Richard, with a touch of Rising Damp
Richard III (Almeida Theatre) Verdict: Fiennes shines ★★★★✩ Titanic (Charing Cross Theatre) Verdict: A smooth voyage ★★★★✩
ATICKLISH stunt marks the start of the Almeida’s new production of Richard III.
They open it with a scene from the archaeological dig under a Leicester car park where the real King Richard’s bones were recently discovered (they now rest in the cathedral).
The dramatic point? Marginal, but I suppose it reminds us that Richard was real, even if Shakespeare’s king is a hyped-up villain with a creepy penchant for vulnerable women.
Ralph Fiennes is rather brilliant in the title role. What an adornment to the London stage he is at the moment.
In the early scenes it could almost be the late Leonard Rossiter (Rigsby in Rising Damp) playing Richard, Mr Fiennes does so much wide- mouthed shrugging and self-deprecation.
We have just seen the archaeologists removed a bent spine from their dig. Now we see Richard’s bent spine showing through his black polo-neck shirt.
Richard, at this point the mere Duke of Gloucester, flatters and joshes his fellow courtiers — even while plotting some of their murders.
As he goes about his grisly work, skulls pop up on the back wall, like some ghoulish trophy cabinet.
When he becomes king at the end of the first half, this Richard stands at the front of the stage, caught in TV- style lights. He slowly raises his arm and we perhaps think he is going to do a cheesy wave to his public. How cynical he has been at this point.
But Mr Fiennes raises his hand further and betrays a clenched fist and a hardening expression on his face, from glee to deadly intent. It is a striking moment.
Director Rupert Goold has assembled a strong cast including Finbar Lynch as Richard’s collaborator Buckingham, Aislin McGuckin as Queen Elizabeth and Susan Engel as a thoroughly regal Duchess of York. Oh, and Vanessa Redgrave as dotty Queen Margaret.
Miss Redgrave is in battle fatigues and spends most of her time holding a doll. She does OK. I suppose the Redgrave name still creates a buzz. MR
FIENNES’S Richard is uninterested in the trappings of kingship, discarding his outer robes and hanging his crown on the back of his throne as soon as the coronation is over.
What he lusts for is power, political and sexual. Mr Fiennes speaks the verse with expert precision, albeit sometimes at the expense of pace.
The sheeplike behaviour of the privy councillors and the political-patronage games portrayed by Shakespeare seldom fail to ring topical bells. The Bishop of Ely goes along with Richard’s power games. Modern prelates are just as politically pliable.
In the closing moments, Richmond (Tom Canton) expresses a hope for stability — just as we may soon hear in Westminster. Mr Fiennes is so good, it may seem a pity that the Almeida is only a small theatre, but the show is going to be broadcast live to cinemas on July 21.
THIS production of stage musical Titanic (different from the film) is not on its maiden voyage. It was seen on the London fringe in 2013 and has resurfaced at the Charing Cross Theatre.
Yet it is worth catching and deserves four stars for bringing rare artistic flair to one of London theatreland’s dingier docks.
Maury Yeston’s music and lyrics are artfully crafted. Some of the songs, particularly the richly chorded Godspeed Titanic, In Every Age and The Blame (lots of tense harpsichord as senior personnel try to apportion blame) are of a high quality. A large cast belts out the music with impressive conviction.
The problem lies with the absence of plot twist. There is no escaping that doom-laden ending and this colours everything that goes before.
The ship hits the iceberg at the end of the first half and, after that, things become decidedly glum. A sub-plot about an elderly couple who choose to die together is milked a little too much.
Look out for Claire Machin as a social climber in second class, David Bardsley as the villainous boss and Philip Rahm as a juttingly bearded captain.
Final thought: in these egalitarian days, would ‘women and children first’ still be legal as an order?