Almeida Theatre Live: Richard III

*7.7

Status

Released

Production

Almeida Theatre

Aired

2016-07-21

Almeida Theatre Live: Richard III

The Almeida Theatre makes its live screening debut with an explosive new adaptation of Richard III, directed by Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold with Ralph Fiennes as Shakespeare’s most notorious villain and Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Margaret. War-torn England is reeling after years of bitter conflict. King Edward is ailing, and as political unrest begins to stir once more, Edward’s brother Richard – vicious in war, despised in peacetime – awaits the opportunity to seize his brother’s crown. Through the malevolent Richard, Shakespeare examines the all-consuming nature of the desire for power amid a society riddled by conflict. Olivier-winning director Rupert Goold’s (Macbeth, King Charles III) searing new production hones a microscopic focus on the mythology surrounding a monarch whose machinations are inextricably woven into the fabric of British history.