Review: Richard III at Trafalgar Studios (Trafalgar Transformed)

Richard III 
Trafalgar Studios (Trafalgar Transformed)
Reviewed on Tuesday 8th July 2014
★★★

Following the huge success of its inaugural season last year, Trafalgar Transformed is back. Last year's season opened with James McAvoy starring as the title role in Macbeth, and now Martin Freeman is making his Shakespearean stage debut as the title character in Richard III.

It seems everybody has an opinion as to how Richard III should be portrayed. He may be a power seeking, ruthless, delusional monster, but the character has complex moments and shouldn't just be hated throughout.

Freeman's performance is interesting as the character's ruthlessness doesn't dominate; instead it is the subtleties in his performance, and the evil twinkle in his eyes, which highlight Richard's twisted mind. 

Freeman dares to be different which some may not like, but his portrayal enables you to look at Richard in a new way. The quirks in Freeman's performance are evident from the start, but perhaps this uneasiness could be held back at first to enable the character to eventually unravel further. The only other element of Freeman's performance which doesn’t feel right is his lack of unpredictability.

It comes as no surprise that director Jamie Lloyd has cast his spell over the play. The snappier running time of two and a half hours certainly widens its appeal. Visually the show is exciting and suitably gory, although not as disgusting as I was expecting! Determined to be King, Richard kills anybody who gets in his way. The amount of death is ridiculous but artistically staged, with the fish tank death providing one of my favourite moments of the evening.

"Trafalgar Transformed has returned with a bang!"

The true stars of the show are Ben and Max Ringham whose sound and music creates, builds and releases tension tremendously. It's not often I sit in my seat at theatre thinking "oh my goodness, this sound design is sublime", but I couldn't help but admire the sound and music which brings so much to the piece. Impressively the style matches Soutra Gilmour's design and Lloyd's direction to pure perfection. 

Bold, refreshing and gory, this production of Richard III takes risks. Accompanied by a strong supporting cast, Freeman brings something new to the table. This may be controversial, but he has found an approach to the role which is less 'in-your-face'.

Trafalgar Transformed has returned with a bang! With preparations for East Is East well under way I am already looking forward to returning to Trafalgar Studios over the coming months. An exciting season looks set to lie ahead, keep your eyes peeled!

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

Richard III at Trafalgar Studios until Saturday 27th September 2014.

Please visit www.trafalgartransformed.com for further information and tickets.

Photo Credit: Marc Brenner

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