Stratford Festival's 2022 production of Richard III has been picked up by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Featuring Colm Feore in the title role and directed for stage by artistic director Antoni Cimolino and for film by Barry Avrich, the production shines new light on Shakespeare’s tale of lethal ambition, the Festival said via a media release.
The two-hour version opened the new Tom Patterson Theatre. It will stream free on CBC Gem and broadcast on CBC, Sat. Aug. 5, at 8 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. in Newfoundland).
“Shakespeare’s work is very cinematic in its structure and this play, with its ruthless, cunning and charismatic protagonist, translates brilliantly to the big screen,” says Cimolino. “Colm Feore gives a masterful performance as Richard and is supported by powerful performances by our finest actors.”
The cast includes Sean Arbuckle as Earl Rivers, Michael Blake as George, Duke of Clarence, Ben Carlson as Lord William Hastings, David Collins as Lord Stanley (Earl of Derby), Jessica B. Hill as Lady Anne, Diana Leblanc as Duchess of York, Seana McKenna as Queen Margaret, Lucy Peacock as Queen Elizabeth, André Sills as Duke of Buckingham and Emilio Vieira as Sir William Catesby.
“When you combine the brilliant and iconic Shakespeare prose with the unbridled power of Colm Feore, the result is pure cinematic bliss,” says Avrich, who is also the producer of the film. “After producing and directing close to 20 of these filmed productions, this one is a career highlight for me.”
Shakespeare’s Richard – the Duke of Gloucester when the play begins – is the embodiment of lethal ambition, manoeuvring and murdering his way to the throne of England. But once he has reached the top, the only way left to go is down – and in Richard’s growing roster of vengeful enemies, none are more menacing than the ghosts of his past.
“The historical Richard, like Shakespeare’s tyrant,” says Cimolino, “was defeated and killed. But he was replaced by a much more sophisticated police state, under regimes that were more cruel and more effective at political manipulation. The text of Richard III is an example of that manipulation. Yet it is also a subversive indictment of tyranny, revealing the tricks used to deceive and manipulate.”
This November Richard III is coming to Stratfest@Home, the Stratford Festival’s streaming platform, which includes selected productions from recent seasons, original digital content, and selected events from the Festival’s Meighen Forum, along with documentaries and original content from across the country.
