An actor's approach to the character of Richard III Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Kendrick, Henry Max, 1942- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 30/09/2021 13:25:18 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/317940 AN ACTOR'S APPROACH TO THE CHARACTER OF RICHARD III by Henry Max Kendrick A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 7 2 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re­ quirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judg­ ment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar­ ship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTORS This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: PETER R. MARRONfiY Professor of Drama ROSEM^Y P. GIPSON Assistant Professor of Drama* ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Space limitations forbid a complete list of persons to whom the writer is indebted for their contributions to the production of Richard III. Special thanks are extended to Rosemary P. Gipson, As­ sistant Professor of Drama, without whose scholarship, expertise, and kindness this thesis would never have been written. Gratitude is also expressed to Professor Peter R. Marroney, Head of the Department of Drama, for his fine directoral hand. Thanks go to Miss Irene Comer, Professor of Drama, for her invaluable advice. The writer is es­ pecially grateful for the friendship and artistic work of Helen W. Currie, Associate Professor of Drama and Costume Director, for her work on Richard III. An affectionate note of gratitude goes to Miss Bonni Rae Haber for her make-up work and her kindness to the writer. An all- encompassing thank you to the cast and crew who worked so long and hard to accomplish such a good effect, with so good a will. Finally, the writer acknowledges the love and faith of his wife Kathryne, who, unlike Anne in the play, survived being the wife of Richard III.. TABLE OF CONTENTS , Page ABSTRACT ........... , v CHAPTER I BACKGROUND OF THE TRAGEDY OF KING RICHARD III 1 England During the Time of the Historical Richard I I I ...................... ............... 1 Sources of the P l a y . ............................... 5 Stage History of the Play . ......... 7 II AN ACTOR'S ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF RICHARD III . 18 The Multiple Personality of Richard ........... 18 Relationship with the Main Characters in the P l a y ................................... 22 Adapting Richard III to Today's Audience ......... 28 III THE ACTOR'S L O G ....................................... 31 IV AN EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF RICHARD III .......... 52 LIST OF R E F E R E N C E S ........... 57 iv c ABSTRACT Throughout theatre history the usual portrayal of Richard III has been that of a gloating archvillain or a colossal Satanic figure. However, Richard III1s character contains a multiplicity of sides, each of which manifests his central quality of villainy and it may be this perfection which has blinded many to his true character. In order to fully understand the many facets of Richard III, an actor needs to investigate the life and times of the historical Richard, to carefully analyze the character created by Shakespeare, and to present Richard to the audience as a vital personality--one that can be enjoyed, admired, and feared. v CHAPTER I BACKGROUND OF THE TRAGEDY OF KING RICHARD III Of all races and peoples, the British, perhaps, have the great­ est love for their history and their historical figures, both good and bad and all shades in between. They have also had, in this writer's opinion, the finest writers to give voice to this history. William Shakespeare, in particular, brought to the stage and brought to life English history in his chronicle plays. In The Living Shakespeare Campbell (1958:118) says, MShakespeare1s audiences saw Richard III less as a tragedy than as a dramatization of history teaching an important political lesson.M Although the stage Richard does not always agree with the historical Richard, Shakespeare created a character which all audiences would watch with enjoyment: vital, intelligent, and stepping from the pages of English history was Richard III, "Richard Crookback." England During the Time of the Historical Richard III The most tragic and bloody war is civil war and the civil strife between the powerful houses of York and Lancaster in England marked a period (1422-1485) of blood in the history of that.nation. Historians have shrunk from the Wars of the Roses and most of those who have written on them have left only a sad and confused picture. Winston Churchill, in his History of the English Speaking Peoples (1956:1, 442), states:. 2 We are however in the presence of the, most ferocious and im­ placable quarrel of which there is factual record. The indi­ vidual actors were bred by generations of privilege and war, into which the feudal theme had brought its peculiar sense of honour, and to which the Papacy, contributed such spiritual sanction as emerged from its rivalries and intrigues. It was a conflict in which personal hatreds reached their maximum and from which mass effects were.happily excluded. There must have . been many similar convulsions in the human story. None how­ ever has been preserved with characters at once so worldly and expensively chiselled. The ups and downs of fortune were so numerous and startling, the family feuds so complicated, the impact of national feeling in moments of crisis so difficult to measure, that it has been the fashion to disparage this period. In 1455, in St. Albans,the first shedding of blood took place. The Yorkists gained possession of King Henry VI, but soon the inherent power of Lancaster was seen. The Lancastrians had the majority of the nobles on their side. Continual trials of strength between the rival houses were made. There were dissensions in the country as the lesser nobility and the common people took sides, grim assemblies in Parlia­ ment, and violent and bloody episodes in the hinterlands. War began in earnest in July of 1460; "Pity was banished from all hearts and death or vengeance was the cry" (Churchill 1956:1, 443). After many bitter and bloody struggles, the climactic battle of Barnet was fought on April 14, 1471; the Lancastrian Queen Margaret tried to reach Wales but Edward IV intercepted her and brought her to bay at Tewkesbury. The Lancastrians were scattered or destroyed, Mar­ garet was captured, and Margaret's son, Edward, the Prince of Wales, was killed. Churchill (1956:1, 473) describes the subsequent action in this way: 3 Richard of Gloucester hastened to London. He had a task to do at the Tower* As long as the Prince of Wales lived King HenryT s life had been safe, but with the death of the last hope of Lan­ caster his fate was sealed. On the night of May 21 the Duke of Gloucester visited the Tower with full authority from the King, where he probably supervised the murder of the melancholy spec­ tator who had been the centre of fifty years of cruel conten­ tion. i-//. Edward IV set about getting his house in order. Clarence died in the Tower of London, a grim stone edifice that had seen the impris­ onment and deaths of many nobles. Richard of Gloucester married Anne Warwick, the King-maker1s daughter. Queen Elizabeth, the wife of Edward IV, had two sons and the Crown seemed secure. King Edward IV was only forty years old. In another ten years the Yorkist triumph would have become permanent. But, suddenly, in April, 1483, Edward died. Although not next in line for the throne, Edward*s faithful brother, Richard, saw that with the proper machinations, his future could be entirely different. The reign of Richard III, formerly Duke of Gloucester, was a short and stormy one. He was crowned on July 6, 1483, and died fight­ ing on Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. It was.not a happy reign. Charles Dickens in his A Child*s History of England (1894:207) says: He was dreaded and hated by all classes of his subjects. His nobles deserted every day to Henry * s side; he denounced them, and, for want of money, he was obliged to get *benevolences* from the citizens, which exasperated them all against him. However, Clements R. Markham in Richard III: His Life and Char­ acter states: The king was a great builder and took great interest in the administration of justice.. There was nothing mean or sordid in his nature. He was liberal, open-handed and generous and his foreign policy, was wise and judicious (1950:130). 4 Churchill (1956:1, 455) states, however: From the moment of the coronation there began that marked dis­ trust and hostility of all classes towards King Richard III which all his arts and competence could not allay.