| Richard III: Unhinged | Australian Shakespeare Company |
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Glenn Elston’s Australian Shakespeare Company, featuring a cast of 24, is now indoors and on stage preparing for its first-ever “Winter of Discontent”. Renowned for its outdoor performances of Shakespeare, the company’s highly accessible production of Richard III – Unhinged will be onstage at the Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins Street, Melbourne for a two-week season from Friday, May 16.
Playing Shakespeare’s greatest villain is BRENDAN O’CONNOR, who has performed with the Australian Shakespeare Company for the past twelve summers. Brendan is best-known for his outstanding performances as the mischievous Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, along with Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and Don John in Much Ado About Nothing.
Joining him on stage in this deranged familial drama is a host of experienced Melbourne actors and a few real family members. KEVIN HOPKINS is Buckingham, Richard’s amoral right-hand man; FRANCESCA WALTERS is Richard’s mother, the Duchess of York; MARIANNE TRINDER is the former Queen Margaret; PHILIP CAMERON-SMITH is Richard’s older brother King Edward IV; TERRI BRABON is Richard’s enemy Queen Elizabeth; HANNAH NORRIS is Richard’s seduction target Lady Anne; ANTHONY RIVE is Elizabeth’s ally in Court, Rivers; MICHAEL BISHOP is King Edward’s loyal but doomed Lord Hastings; DENNIS COARD is Richard’s hapless younger brother Clarence; PHILLIP LAMBERT and HUGH SEXTON are Richard’s flunkies Ratcliff and Catesby; GLENN VAN OOSTEROM is Richard’s challenger to the throne, Richmond; and ROSS WILLIAMS is Richmond’s stepfather Stanley.
Playing the two young princes mercilessly targeted by the power-hungry Richard is director GLENN ELSTON’S own two sons, ARKY and OTIS ELSTON, while CAITLIN O’CONNOR plays the son of Clarence, the brother brutally murdered by Richard, her off-stage father and on-stage tyrant, BRENDAN O’CONNOR.
A timeless play illustrating the abuse of power in the service of ambition, Richard III is a catalogue of political manoeuvring, deceit, subterfuge and death.
Australian Shakespeare Company presents
Richard III - Unhinged
Venue: Athenaeum Theatre | 188 Collins Street Melbourne
Dates: Tuesday-Sunday, May 16 to June 1
Schools: 11am Wednesday and Thursday May 19, 20, 26, 27
Bookings: 1300 122 344 or Ticketmaster 136 100 or www.ticketmaster.com.au
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