Originally produced at the Old Vic in London, the historical play starring popular Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey in the villainous lead role and directed by Sam Mendes, another well-known name in the movie world, charts the rise and fall of the 15th-century murderous king in a fascist England setting.
With the five-day run set to continue through Sunday, the İstanbul venue could not deal with the huge demand for tickets -- despite an extra showing added on Saturday afternoon last month -- leaving many distraught Spacey fans ticketless and fuming.
According to a statement by the İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Art (İKSV), the team arrived in town on Monday, with rehearsals and a series of photo-shoots having begun in earnest on Tuesday.
Spacey, complete with a clunking metal leg brace, is joined on stage with a sparkling cast featuring Maureen Anderman as the duchess of York, Haydn Gwynne as Queen Elizabeth, Chuk Iwuji as duke of Buckingham, Gemma Jones as Queen Margaret and Chandler Williams as George, duke of Clarence.
A production which won glittering praise from the British press, Charles Spencer of The Telegraph described Spacey’s portrayal of Richard III as an “electrifying performance which brilliantly identifies the two forces that drive the ‘poisonous, bunch-backed toad’ -- heartless ambition and a profound self-loathing,” while Guardian theater critic Michael Billington said, “Sam Mendes has come up with a beautifully clear, coherent modern-dress production in which the protagonist becomes an autocratic archetype.” The Independent’s Paul Taylor described the play simply as “spine-tingling.”
