Bringing it to a close: R3
The last day of the cycle, and time for R3. The RSC doesn’t normally do Sunday performances, but this day marks one of the few exceptions to that rule. Everyone will still get a bit of a breather, as the performance doesn’t start until 3 pm, and for the first time during the cycle I’ve had the time to look at what’s sitting in my inbox. I even had time to briefly look in on my online Shakespeare discussion group, where the discussion of Hamlet has just started, and thank goodness this part of it is secure in Arlene’s very capable hands, and that the reins won’t be passed to me until May, as I think my brain would probably have melted if I had had to do that concurrently with this Histories extravaganza.
I’m pleased to say that the cycle goes out on a strong note, even if it’s not as good as the opening R2, but then few productions are of that calibre. The obligatory reminder before the play, about mobiles and the like, is delivered by Roger Watkins, and he’s immediately greeted by a huge cheer as he comes onto the stage. He then proceeds to first count the seven down and one to go on his fingers, before miming the entire caution about using mobiles, cameras or recording equipment, all of which is received with applause and laughter. So far we’ve largely been spared mobile phones going off, with one notable exception last night when someone’s phone went off right towards the end of Richard’s big soliloquy. (spoilers coming up)
Up until now, all of the productions have been in period costume, even if they’ve seen some mixing of different time periods, but this one is in modern dress. The reason for this seems a little unclear; yes, there’s some passage of time between the end of 3H6 and the beginning of R3, though that is somewhat obscured here, as this production starts with the same scene that marked the end of 3H6, but what’s the benefit of switching to modern dress? I mean apart from the obvious fact that this of course allows you to put guns into the production. I would have thought that the more natural place to shift from period to modern, if you were going to do so at all, would have been at the break between H5 and 1H6, as the events that are portrayed in the H6’s depict the next generation’s machinations.
Anyway, the modern dress isn’t really an issue, and I hardly thought about it until we suddenly got the big and loud battle scene that marks the beginning of R3’s attempt to take the throne, with explosives going off and soldiers descending on ropes from the ceiling, which is the only real use that is made of the space above the stage in this production, another clear difference to how the H6s were done. The ghost theme carries on through this one as well, unsurprisingly as some of that stuff is actually in the play itself, but the additions are becoming almost entirely predictable by this time.
Clarence is about to snuff it in the Tower, so let’s have Warwick turn up and glare at him over his betrayal; R3 is getting crowned, let’s have him leer at all the ghosts of the people that he has bumped off along the way, as they watch the ghost of York crown and proclaim him king; Richmond faces R3 on the battlefield, let’s have Richmond backed by all R3’s victims in silent support; R3 is crawling away in defeat, let’s have his disapproving parents along with the murdered princes spurn him.
Other things are much more interesting, such as the dream sequence before the battle of Bosworth Field, where R3 dreams that he’s free from his deformities, only for the ghosts to visit him and reinflict all of his various handicaps, that was absolutely wonderfully conceived and marvellously acted. It’s towards the end that I really find Jonathan Slinger’s R3 most compelling, from his coronation onwards, as the earlier part didn’t really strike a chord for me, partly because it was at times too shouty (as were some of the other performances) and partly because of the edge of hysteria that it had to it. I didn’t really find the wooing of Lady Anne particularly convincing, but then that’s a tricky one to get right, and once more I found the chemistry between Slinger and Hannah Barrie (Lady Anne in this one, Queen Isabel in R2) decidedly lacking.
R3’s and Buckingham’s plotting to put R3 on the throne is very amusingly done, with them staging a failed coup against them, putting on fake blood in the process, and with Catesby cordoning off the stage as a crime scene, as is Buckingham’s attempt to get the audience, suddenly taking on the role of the unenthusiastic Londoners of the play, to stand up and hail R3’s bid to take the throne. All in all this is a good production, even if it isn’t by any means outstanding, though bits of it are very good indeed, such as the aftermath to the coronation with the break that occurs between R3 and Buckingham.
The play comes to a satisfying end just before 6.30 pm, meaning that we have completed the full chronological cycle in a mere 71 hours. There’s a well deserved standing ovation for the cast, the crew and everyone else that has worked on this, and what an achievement it is! Richard Cordery is the first one to make a little speech and he is followed by Michael Boyd who thanks everyone, including us the audience, for being part of this special project. Flowers come raining down on the assembled cast, and they dash off stage, only to return with loads of red and white roses, which they then throw to us, some of them managing quite a distance by throwing the long-stemmed roses like little spears. My goodness, what a weekend it’s been, and I’m going to need a little time to absorb it all.
There was a reception afterwards for the people who have been along for this whole cycle, where pretty much everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, not to mention the champagne that was being served. That wound down at around 8 pm, and the Duck was unusually quiet afterwards, but then this was a Sunday evening, so I had a whole table to myself, and spent an undisturbed hour going through my notes and just writing down my impressions. There will be one final post on the Histories, summing up this whole experience and my final thoughts about it, and this will be coming up in the next day or so.
//Jenny
