The defeated Richard now saw that there was another theatre, within which his stage was merely one more playing space over which he no longer held any power. Half-way through his opening speech, he stumbled, almost falling before angrily tearing off his clothes to reveal a darker outfit beneath, with heavy boots, orthopaedic body-brace and arm-strap.Īt the end of the play, the back wall of the stage (which had, up until now, been understood to be the real back wall of the theatre, made up of unadorned brick, from which hung ropes, hooks and switches) flew up to reveal a second bare, brick wall, before which the ghosts of Richard's victims stood in eerie silent accusation.

Henry Goodman's Richard emerged from the heavy red curtains at the start of the play, straight-backed and dapperly dressed in ivory top hat and tails. This Richard was conceived as an Edwardian impresario, a barn-storming actor-manager taking charge of a great theatre (complete with magnificent red velvet curtains, well-worn backcloths and stage flats) to play out his compulsive fantasies, only to discover that his play will ultimately escape his control.

Shakespeare plays with queen margaret