Richard III (2023)
- Promenade performance
- Wednesday 31st May to Saturday 3rd June
- Wednesday 7th to Saturday 10th June
- Performances begin at 7.30 pm
Director: Leah Moorhouse
Tickets (£12/£10 Wed-Thurs and £14/£12 Fri-Sat) are available through the Eastgate Theatre box office (01721 725777) or online.
Videos and Photographs
Please note that our outdoor performances are in the grounds of Traquair House. The performances take place whatever the weather, so come prepared with suitable clothing and footwear. Our plays begin at 7.30 promptly, so make sure you have time to park your car and walk to the start of our play.
The Director’s View
This year Shakespeare at Traquair returns for its annual, summer performance of one of the Bard’s classics. Following last year’s comedy favourite, “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the company are taking a trip down a slightly darker path in this year’s production of “Richard III.” A thrilling piece about the deceit, corruption and debauchery that filled the court of this most vilified ruler. Richard’s reign marked the end of the, ‘War of the Roses,’ and paved the way for the subsequent, famous Tudor dynasty. While there is a great deal of speculation as to how many of the antics and events in the play are embellished by the Tudor propaganda at the time of writing, their biased view certainly makes for a juicier story. This slanted perspective of the King helped to create, arguably Shakespeare’s greatest anti-hero.
I am delighted to be taking on the role of director this year. I have been working with Shakespeare at Traquair since 2006 and have been fortunate enough to participate in a wide range of plays and texts. The gorgeous setting of Traquair house has proven itself time and time again, to be a versatile and magical venue for live, promenade performance. This year, I wanted to try and do something that the company has never explored before, one of Shakespeare’s History Plays. Out of all of these, “Richard III,” appealed to me the most. As well as being a gripping and powerful piece, it has a multitude of great references to real life plots and historical conspiracies. Cases like those of ‘The Princes in the Tower,’ and the numerous marriages and deaths of the nobility in that very narrow window of time in history. So, if you are a history lover like me, this is the play for you. If that’s not your thing and you just like a good story, then you will be equally satisfied.
So what else can you expect from this year’s show? Well, this year instead of a set time period we are going for a stylised, gothic-meets-steampunk theme to match the dark and deliciously, devious text. Lots of mood and atmosphere created by our fabulous musicians, actors and some other-worldly influences. Some of the greatest insults that can be found in any of Shakespeare’s library of works! Finally, if you “Lumps of foul deformity,” make it to the end then you will join us for the illustrious ‘Battle of Bosworth,’ and the final stand-off.
Leah Moorhouse
Rehearsal Photographs
Auditions (December 2022)
The audition process is a little different this year. Leah has created an audition pack with full details of what’s happening on the day and what you need to prepare if you are coming along. She will be bringing copies of the pack on the day for those who have been unable to have a look before hand so don’t panic if you don’t get a chance. She has decided to put this together because many people are not familiar with some of the history plays as they are performed less frequently. It contains the show dates, Leah’s contact details, information about the show, history and characters and all the audition material. You will find the pack links below and these are also on our website as well.
Leah’s plan is to have the auditions and casting in December so you can make a start on lines ASAP. It’s a very wordy piece, especially for Richard. She hopes to then have a read through towards the end of January, once people have had a bit of time to familiarise themselves with the text. She will confirm a date for this with everyone at the auditions. Actual rehearsals will begin towards the end of February/beginning of March. Again dates TBC.
Leah is really looking forward to seeing you all and getting going with this production. Leah feels that she has been sitting in limbo with it for a very long time because of Covid and she is itching to kick off! If you have any questions give her a call on the number in the audition pack and she will do her best to help.