We went to Richard III at Theatre in the Round not so long ago (next up, The Magic Garden). It's one of my favorites because I studied the Tudors for almost five years as an undergrad and the liminal between Richard III and Henry VII and the changes to the government were fascinating. So this sits right on the start of what I studied. It usually feels like one of the most accessible plays to me as well. How difficult is to understand a piece of propaganda where the main character is pretty much a total dick. That translates in action, if not in language. Eryn picked up most of it, and she's not a big fan of Shakespeare at TiTR. Guy kills all his relatives, marries their wives, wants to marry his niece (this skeeved Eryn the most).
It helps to have all the history and know that it's a piece of Tudor propaganda. Sure there were humps and nefarious deeds, but history is written by the victor. Even more so if you're trying to back up a claim to a crown you're not really queued up for.
Lucas Gerstner (you work at Imation in your free time, Lucas? That's cool) as Richard III was extremely good and really captured the conniving nature of the character in his tone and action. He really made the play.
And Tyrrel and Ratcliffe as sort of hipster/Portlandesque assassins played by Daniel Vopava and Matthew Englund? That was a good touch. They had solid, semi-sniveling, do-what-we're-told, lackey vibe.
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