2007-2008

News Release

REF NO.: 0

SUBJECT:

DATE: March 28, 2008

“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!”
Before Romeo & Juliet, before Hamlet, and before The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare’s famous hunchback was fighting tooth and nail to keep the crown.
The theatre program at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College is proud to present its fourth-year BFA production fresh from rehearsal in Harlow, UK: Richard III.
Although one of Shakespeare’s first-penned scripts, the story of Richard III concludes the long saga of “The War of the Roses,” chronicled in Shakespeare’s History Plays. In it, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, murders, tempts, lies and cheats his way to the top of the monarchy only to realize that his “kingdom stands on brittle glass.” So he has to keep killing and spinning his nasty web around him, gradually losing support until not even a horse is there to help him fight.
But make no mistake: this is not a history lesson. Murder, beheadings, sword fights, drunken parties and lots of industrial rock characterize the world of this production that has been described as “medieval meets The Matrix.”
Richard III features the 2008 graduating class and is directed by Grenfell alumnus and returning visiting professor Stephen Drover. Renate Pohl, also a graduate, designs set and lights while assistant professor roy Hansen-robitschek creates the costumes for this cast of 16.
Richard III was reputedly the first play to be given a professional production in Newfoundland and is now presented for the first time on Grenfell’s stage. The time is long overdue. It runs April 2 to 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available in advance at the college bookstore, or on the evening of each performance at the box office. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. For more information, call 637-6223.

- 30 -