King Richards are like London buses. You wait for ages and then two come along at once. First there is Richard II, who gets caught up in evil plotting at the Barbican with the Royal Shakespeare Company. (The must-see three-hour version stars David Tennant.) Now there is Richard III, who is more Machiavellian and murders his way to the top. The New Diorama has The Faction’s epic take on a brave choice – it is the second longest play in Shakespeare. Yet it is timely with the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death and the still recent discovery of the remains of Richard III in Leicestershire.It starts promisingly with the battle-scarred anti-hero aptly proclaiming: “Now is the winter of our discontent.” While Shakespeare sets this on a London street, it’s often preceded with a battle set-piece, as here. Battles bookend this production and are the best thing about it. The 21 performers are directed by artistic director Mark Leipacher.To fit this many people on the Diorama’s small stage, there are no sets or props. Actors mime keys being handed over and unsheathe swords to appropriate noises off. Sometimes this works, sometimes not: a door creak sounds like a comic “Munsters” effect. The cast improvises everything. Actors lock together to form prison walls, horses in battle or Richard III’s throne. There are many moments of “static-action syndrome” during monologues when everyone else stands like statues. This is a modern-dress version but some contemporary references still grate, such as the use of Morse code to signify battle news.It’s not much of a plot spoiler, because most people know the history it is based on. Most of the long running time is taken up with the nitty-gritty of politics. The victorious House of York is in chaos and Lancaster gets taken apart. Richard turns King Edward against his brother Clarence. He finishes off the Princes in the Tower and anyone else who looks remotely threatening. The Faction has some imaginative casting such as Anna Maria Nabirye as Buckingham and debut actor Jeremy Ang Jones as Richmond. The veteran Carmen Munroe – who made her debut in 1962 - is the Duchess. Things get confusing as people die, then jump up and carry on. They are supposed to be ghosts who later come back to haunt Richard with their spooky “despair or die” chant.Christopher York was clearly chosen for his acting ability rather than having the appropriate surname for the title role. Richard III, or Gloucester as he is in the text, is one of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes with the seeds of destruction set within him, a man of war who cannot adjust to peace. While his brothers in arms become coddled gentleman of leisure, Richard sees only another battle to fight. York holds his arm in an appropriately deformed pose playing the broken solider. When the King wants to be persuasive, the posture returns to normal – a nice touch. York delivers his lines flawlessly – indeed there are so many words that in order to keep up there is little room for the action to breathe. This could work as a radio play: the speeches are hurried through as if everyone has a train to catch, with little dead air.The best set-piece, which at least is given a little room to develop, comes as Richard tries to convince Queen Elizabeth (a poised performance by Kate Sawyer) to help him win her daughter Elizabeth’s hand in marriage. The Queen is reluctant: she knows he has killed the rest of her family.The plot bowls along as Richard is warned that those who rise by the sword, fall by the sword. The final sequence is a fine enough conclusion as he loses his steed and declares “a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.” Richmond succeeds to the throne, uniting York and Lancaster by marrying Princess Elizabeth. This is the sort of thing that might do well at the Edinburgh Festival: a spirited piece by a committed ensemble full of blood and drama.“Richard III” continues at the New Diorama Theatre, 15-16 Triton Street, Regent's Place, London, NW1 3BF to February 6. Information: http://newdiorama.com/
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