Actress Sara Beer is ready to rule as she takes on the role of king in The Llanarth Group’s reimagining of Richard III next spring. Written by award-winning playwright Kaite O’Reilly, director Phillip Zarrilli brings his latest production to venues across Wales during March 2018.
Richard III: Bogeyman. Villain. Evil incarnate. Or is he? What if he is she? What if the ‘hideous…. deformed, hobbling, hunchbacked cripple’ is portrayed by someone funny, female, feminist, and with the same form of scoliosis? How might the story change, the body change, the acting change, the character change when explored by a disabled actress with deadly comic timing and a dislike for horses?
richard III redux is not a production of Shakespeare’s classic, but an interweaving of stories about acting, difference, and a maligned historical figure told by unreliable narrator Sara Beer. She takes on Richard as a solo performer in many guises, interspersed with video and live camera sequences. The production will premiere at Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre on International Women’s Day, March 8 2018.
“I am extremely lucky to have worked with Kaite O’Reilly and Phillip Zarrilli on several projects over the years,” says Sara, “ Playing Richard III is not an opportunity I ever expected to arise but when Kaite suggested it as a way of exploring the many aspects of this much maligned character and the portrayal throughout history by non-disabled actors I jumped at the chance. It is a hugely enjoyable process as well as a challenge like no other I have experienced. This production will be anything but traditional, but I am sure it will be thought provoking as well as entertaining.”
Written by O’Reilly, the production is directed by Phillip ZarrillI, with videography by Cardiff based filmmaker Paul Whittaker.
Kaite, Phillip and Sara have recently returned to Wales following a successful cultural exchange with disabled and Deaf artists in Singapore, commissioned by Unlimited and supported by the British Council and Arts Council Wales.
richard III redux OR Sara Beer [IS/NOT] richard III is a Llanarth Group production and is supported by Arts Council Wales. The production will tour to Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Mold, Cardigan and Milford Haven in spring 2018.
2018 Tour Dates
March 8, 9, 10, 16,17 Chapter Theatre, Cardiff
March 14, 15 Aberystwyth Art Centre Studio
March 19, 20: Theatre Clwyd, Mold
March 21: The Torch Theatre, Milford Haven
March 23 – Small World: Theatre, Cardigan