July 16, 1999 performance reviewed by Kathleen Tierney
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“Now is the winter of our discontent” booms out of the darkness at the opening of Shakespeare & Company’s production of Richard III, directed by Tina Packer. The lights come up on the title character, played by Jonathan Epstein, suspended in a spider’s web. A dragon breathing fire on condemned souls gives the scenery painting behind him a medieval quality.
Epstein flies around the set on his crutches with the agility of a gymnast, the energy of a madman. The flow of the acting by the entire company never lags. Rob Bullington and Henry David Clarke, as the two murderers, deliver a delightful rendition of Shakespeare’s discourse on conscience. This small bit of humor works as a perfect conterpoint to the overall tension and lamentation present throughout.
Ms. Packer’s use of the rituals of lamentation makes this production unique in this most-produced of Shakespeare’s plays. Lamentation is an ancient ritual of grieving that is generally left out of contemporary productions of Richard III.
Though at moments difficult to hear, the sounds of the mourning women offer a sense of completeness and bear witness to the healing process. Fittingly, the play closes with Richard again suspended as the spider caught in his own web.
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