KING RICHARD III

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27091, 27 May 1949, Page 6

KING RICHARD 111

SHAKESPEARE CLUB READING SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTION Although it is generally considered to be an uneven and somewhat confused and confusing play, Shakespeare s King Richard III" has a number of unforgettable scenes that make it a memorable stage production. The Dunedin Shakespeare Club at its public reading in the Concert Chamber last night, in spite of all the limitations imposed on the performers, managed to extract the best from it .and is to be congratulated on its achievement. Owing to a strong counterattraction next door, however, the audience was not as large as the merit of the production deserved. The play is largely dominated by one character, the fiendish king himself. Richard has not a single redeeming virtue. His studied malignancy in his insatiable craving for domination, his unscrupulous cruelty, and at the end, his bemuddled mind, pitUessly maintained through four long acts, make of him one of the most supremely detestable characters of fact or fiction. The task of portraying Richard was in the hands of Mr D. E. Dali, and to him most of the honours of the evening must go. In keeping with the king’s temperament, Mr Dali, however, often appeared to be in an extraordinary “ hurry,” and his diction suffered somewhat in consequence. In that superb solliloquy in which he declares that " my conscience hath a thousand several tongues and every tongue brings in aseveral tale, and every tale condemns md for a villain,” Mr Dali reached something approaching real dramatic power. He was equally good where the King, overcoming his temporary' lapse into despair, scorned his dreams and mocked his enemies. But there was no victory for Richard, for it was soon to be proclaimed that " the bloody dog is dead.” The ghosts of those whom he had slaughtered were true prophets when they told him that " God and the gpod angels fight on Richmond’s side.” The ghost scene, one of the most poignant in this soul-searing drama, was undoubtedly the most moving of all, and Miss Thompson, as the Duke of York, and Miss B. Pollock, as the Prince of Wales, together with Mr H. W. Hunter, as the Duke of Buckingham, and Mr M. Fahey as Brackenbury, deserve special commendation.

Mrs S. Mee, as Queen Margaret,' gave a satisfying performance, and Miss E. Abbot. a s Queen Elizabeth, appeared in one striking scene with Richard that justly earned the plaudits of the audience. Mrs L. Griffiths (Duchess of York), Lady Anne (Miss S. Westland), Mr S. Mee (Tyrrell), Mr N. McKinlay (Richmond), Mr I. Turnbull (Lord Hastings), and Mr H. Chapman (Lord Stanley) all added their quota to a successful presentation. The " chorus ” was Miss M. McKechie, and the director of reading, Miss H. A. Smith.