Elm Shakespeare Kicks Off ​“Glorious Summer”

Elm Shakespeare Company’s production of Richard III — running in Edgerton Park now through Sept. 1 — opens on a scene of warfare, complete with smoke, red lighting, and clashing swords. Then it transitions into a party, with swirling ribbons and joyful dancing. The titular Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Lisa Wolpe) feels much more at home in the former scene than in the latter. ​“Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace / Have no delight to pass away the time,” Richard proclaims bitterly. This is the key to his entire character, and in some senses, the play itself.

Richard is a soldier in the War of the Roses, and the transition to peacetime leaves him unmoored and disadvantaged. He feels cast aside by society, not least because of his scoliosis diagnosis and his position as the youngest brother to the king, Edward IV (Kevin Vavasseur). Edward IV is married to Elizabeth (Kristen Wold), a marriage that in real life was considered ill-advised and politically complicated. With Edward and Elizabeth’s two sons (Willow Oliviera and Ell Zirolli), not to mention the second brother George, Duke of Clarence (Maconnia Chesser), in line to the throne before him, Richard is really nowhere near becoming king himself.

But to a person as manipulative and scheming as he is, family members are mere roadblocks. Richard decides to orchestrate a series of murders that will bring him closer to the coveted throne. His killing spree eventually leads him to the most infamous point in the story: the deaths of the princes ahead of him in line in the Tower.

Although the mystery of what happened to the young princes has never been definitively solved, most historians agree that it is most likely that Richard was behind their deaths. It is worth noting, however, that the Shakespearean portrayal of Richard as a cunning villain stems from political motivations: Shakespeare wrote the play for his benefactor Elizabeth I, whose claim to the throne rested upon the idea that Richard was evil and deserved to be disposed of.

So was Richard evil? Shakespeare says yes. Wolpe’s portrayal of the character is delightfully immoral, barely bothered by the inconvenience of a conscience, a certified Bad Guy. Elm Shakespeare opts for a black-and-white look at the play, and in doing so, erases some of the complex nuances of Richard’s characterization. But it also turns him into a frightful figure who’s conniving ways are nothing but fun to witness.

“Now, my lord, what shall we do if we perceive / Lord Hastings will not yield to our complots?” asks Richard’s greatest ally, the Duke of Buckingham (Walton Wilson). He is asking a specific version of a very general question in the play: what will Richard do if someone stands between him and what he wants?

The answer, as Richard puts it, is simple. ​“Chop off his head.”

Throughout the play, Richard is often referred to as a dog or told to go to Hell. In his opening speech, when he lays out his plans and the reasoning behind them, he complains that he is so distasteful of a person that ​“dogs bark at me as I halt by them,” suggesting also that he feels disrespected even by those who he considers his inferiors. The double significance of this phrase, that Richard is perceived by others to be the lowest of the low, and that he struggles to maintain superiority over anyone, does wonders toward explaining his character. If you squint — and you have to squint very hard — there’s a certain pathos to Richard’s motivations. He wants to be the best because everyone around him already considers him the worst.

Another recurring theme is that of shadows. Richard claims that the only amusement he has in life is ​“to spy my shadow in the sun,” and mourn his physical condition. Later on, Catesby (Cameron Muñoz), a nobleman, tells him to ​“be not afraid of shadows.” Richard is living in the shadow of his more powerful family members, and he wants to escape it. A shadow is also a darker version of oneself that one carries with them wherever they go. Richard succumbs to his own shadow, becoming the worst version of himself as the play progresses.

“Why should calamity be full of words?” asks the Duchess of York, the dowager queen (Maconnia Chesser). Shakespeare, who built a life — not to mention scores of fictional lives — out of words, would doubtless say that it’s because words are how we make sense of the world around us, how we make the unspeakable speakable. Richard relies on words even more so than he does a sword: he manipulates those around him, from Buckingham to Elizabeth to his desired wife Anne (Caro Reyes Rivera), using his powers of persuasion and threats. This is a story deeply rooted in tragedy and a war-torn country, and words are how the characters make sense of what’s around them, as well as how they change the course of history.

True to the cyclical nature of history, Richard III starts and ends with a battle. When Richard proclaims the iconic line ​“a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse,” it’s proof that he has finally found something he values more than the crown: his own life. Too little, too late. The procession of rulers proceeds on, and Richard is just one of many names that history remembers as a failed king, and perhaps a failed man. Elm Shakespeare Company leaves a delighted audience with the chance to pass judgment, and doubtless the judgment toward Richard will be deservedly unfavorable. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but heavier still may be the heart that covets it.

Elm Shakespeare Company’s production of Richard III runs in Edgerton Park through Sept. 1, with shows beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the theater company’s website for more information.