The Stage

Richard III

Published Monday 1 October 2007 at 11:15 by Matthew Hemley

The sound of trains rumbling above Southwark Playhouse’s new London Bridge venue adds something rather sinister to Tangram Theatre’s production of Richard III.

Like rolls of thunder, the noise seems to fit nicely with the play’s dark events and complements the production’s own percussion-based score, composed by Alex Silverman.

With the audience seated on each side of what is best described as a catwalk, the show’s cast of ten each take on a number of the production’s 17 characters. Although the play starts a little slowly, and some of the pace seems to remain on one level for a lot of the production, it eventually picks up energy, but it only really grips the audience in the final few scenes.

Jotham Annan gives a fine performance in the roles of Buckinghamshire and Richmond, while Aicha Kossoko brings welcome energy and presence to the stage in her portrayal of Margaret. However it is John Lightbody as Richard who steals the show, finding humour in the text and lumbering around the stage as in an often camp manner, becoming suitably more manic as he sets about showing Richard’s determination to become king.

The show’s use of puppets provides a welcome change of pace and a nice visual touch, and Silverman’s score helps build tension in all the right places. Sadly, the narrow catwalk staging feels visually disappointing and doesn’t allow for any depth in the staging. The end result is that the production feels longer than its 90 minutes.