‘Richard III’ at Tufts April 14-18

| March 28, 2015 | Art, Entertainment, and Culture, School Notebook | No Comments

The Tufts University Department of Drama and Dance presents Shakespeare’s Richard III in the Balch Arena Theater at the Aidekman Arts Center on 5 evenings: April 14-18, 2015 at 8 p.m. BOX OFFICE: 617-627-3493.

Richard III, adapted and directed by Gibson Cima, written by William Shakespeare. In 2012, researchers at the University of Leicester stunned the world by announcing the discovery of the remains of King Richard III under an office parking lot. The location of Richard’s burial had been a matter of debate since his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. In addition to his life, Richard lost his kingdom to Henry Tudor, the grandfather of Shakespeare’s patron, Queen Elizabeth I.

For an international public most familiar with the unrepentant tyrant of Shakespeare’s play, the discovery humanized the “rudely stamped”, “deformed”, and “unfinished” king. He was found to be in his early thirties with severe scoliosis of the spine, which would have made walking uncomfortable, but not necessarily have resulted in the hunchbacked villain depicted by Shakespeare.

No evidence exists to suggest that Richard was anything other than a typical medieval king, the victim of a post-mortem hatchet job perpetrated by Tudor historians. In light of this new information on a 500 year-old-play, Richard III is ripe for interpretation. Come join us for this energetic ensemble production that plays against the Tudor propaganda of Shakespeare’s script, questioning the narratives of power that rewrite history to suit their own ends.

The Balch Arena Theater in the Aidekman Arts Center is located at 40 Talbot Avenue on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus. Admission is $15 for general admission; $10 Tufts ID/Seniors; $10; $1 Night on April 16. For more information, please visit http://dramadance.tufts.edu/contact/; call the Balch Arena Theater Box Office at 617.627.3493; visit our Facebook Events page https://www.facebook.com/TuftsUniversityDepartmentOfDramaAndDance/events.

– Submitted by Tufts University