Baker Shakespeare Theatre 2008: Richard III

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Baker Shakespeare Theatre
Baker Residential College
Rice University
6320 Main Street
Houston, TX 77005-1891

1970 The Taming of the Shrew
1971 A Midsummer Night's Dream
1972 Twelfth Night
1973 The Country Wife
1974 The Tempest
1975 As You Like It
1976 Henry IV, Part I
1977 Much Ado About Nothing
1978 Love's Labours Lost
1979 The Winter's Tale

1980 Romeo and Juliet
1981 All's Well That Ends Well
1982 Macbeth
1983 The Merry Wives of Windsor
1984 Measure for Measure
1985 The Tempest
1986 A Midsummer Night's Dream
1987 King Lear
1988 The Taming of the Shrew
1989 As You Like It

1990 The Merchant of Venice
1991 Macbeth
1992 The Tempest
1993 Love's Labours Lost
1994 All's Well That Ends Well
1995 Romeo and Juliet
1996 Much Ado About Nothing
1997 The Winter's Tale
1998 Julius Caesar
1999 A Midsummer Night's Dream

2000 The Merry Wives of Windsor
2001 Macbeth
2002 Twelfth Night
2003 King Lear
2004 Othello
2005 The Taming of the Shrew
2006 Cymbeline
2007 Much Ado About Nothing



	Richard III... William Shakespeare's Richard the Third dramatizes the rise and fall of one of the most sinister figures in English history, the evil King Richard. Shakespeare uses the occult to finally unhinge his nearly conscience-less villain, but the sinister forces at work infuse all of the players in this political drama with fear and guilt. A gaping maw in the center of the stage dominates much of the action, a pit marking the boundary between this world and the next, into which all of the characters eventually tumble as they spiral closer and closer to destruction. One of the most famous histories, this version of Richard the Third disconnects the action from time, leaving it floating between eras as characters remain eerily trapped in an ancient mindset from which they cannot break - until enough mutual hate has focused on Richard to clear away the numerous other vendettas among the characters. An angel of death figure haunts Richard and the stage, showing the blood left in the wake of Richard's relentless ambition. This personal look at the characters of history, the fear in every heart and the blood on every pair of hands, questions the simple dichotomy of blame used throughout the play without forgiving in the least the ruthless murder of brothers, allies, and nephews Richard gleefully orchestrates. A modern look at an old story, this history will come alive and send shivers down your spine.
			Since the premiere season in 1970, Rice University's Baker Residential College has hosted the oldest continuous Shakespeare festival in Houston, bringing these classic plays to both the undergraduate population and wider Houston audiences. Six weeks of rehearsal give the undergraduate actors the chance to deeply inhabit Shakespeare's work and words.
	Baker College's elegant oak-paneled Commons, originally the university-wide dining hall in the early 1900s, provides a stately space within which to perform. The space lends itself to fast entrances and exits and frequent interaction with the audience — thus recreating the experience of Shakespeare's own day.