R3 The Life and Death
of Richard III

Theatre

  • Nationality

    Taiwan

  • Date

    4/10-4/11 (Fri.-Sat.) 19:30

    4/11-4/12 (Sat.-Sun.) 14:30

  • Venue

    National Theater

  • Production

    Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group

  • Ticket Price

    NT$ 500 800 1200 1600 2000 2500

History is but a crime fiction
Whereas truth, daughter of time

“But say, my lord, it were not register'd,
Methinks the truth should live from age to age,
As 'twere retail'd to all posterity,
Even to the general all-ending day.”
—— Richard III

In 2012, a skeleton suspected to be the remains of King Richard III was found underneath a parking lot near a church in the Leicester city center. Later, it was confirmed by DNA tests that the skeletal remains were those of King Richard III, for centuries the most reviled of English monarchs. Through the description by Shakespeare, this deformed cripple has become the most infamous monarch in the English history and has even been described as a monster in fairytales, the destroyer of innocence, and the synonym of evil. However, historians and literary writers have been trying to rehabilitate the medieval king and to promote a more balanced view of Richard III.

If history is a crime fiction, how could it be molded and reshaped? Director Wang Chia-ming, twice Taishin Arts Award winner, tries his hands on Shakespeare’s works for the third time after Titus Andronicus and Romeo & Juliet, and challenges Shakespeare’s history play, Richard III. By real-time recordings, onsite sound-dabbing, and putting men along with puppets on the same stage, Wang Chia-ming aims to echo the contemporary politics in Taiwan with the history 400 years ago, exploring such questions as “What is history?” and “What is truth?”

Wang Chia-ming

artistic and general director of Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group, has been working on experimental theatre for years and has always kept his creative works a fusion of tradition and innovation, a daring integration of popularity and avant-garde. He is also absorbed in probing the possibilities of new expressions on languages, performance and audio/voice in theatre through cooperation with artists from cross genres. With the experiment of the empty space and the use of voice, he forces performers to explore, to embrace and to deliberate on the possibilities of theater, thereby creating a unique style in the contemporary Taiwanese theater.

Creative Team

  • Playwright: William Shakespeare
  • Director: Wang Chia-ming
  • Producer: Yukio Nitta
  • Cast: Fa, Wang Shih-chun, Daniel Wang, Chu An-ru, Chu Chia-i, Tom Chou, Zoe Zhou, Tsuei Tai-hao, Winnie Chang, May Mei, Peng Hao-chin, Huang Kai-lin, Chao Yi-lan, Tsai Hsuan-yen, Cheng Yin-chen, Hsieh Ying-hsuan
  • Costume Designer: Chin Ping-ping
  • Lighting Designer: Tsao An-huei
  • Music Designer: Blaire Ko
  • Approx. 180 minutes with an intermission.
  • Pre-talk: 4/11 (Sat.) Matinee, 30 minutes before performance at the Lobby of National Theater
  • The age guidance for this production is 12+.
  • The performance contains adult subject matter, nudity, smoke and bloody scenes. Viewer discretion is advised.
  • Recording Date: 4/12 (Sun.)
  • Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group:www.swsg95.com.tw