The Tragedy of Richard III (1983)

Intro

A play adapted for television, and first broadcast on 23 January 1983, 7.15pm (BBC).

Running time: 3 hours and 59 minutes

Photos

The first photo shows Lady Anne Neville (played by Zoë Wanamaker) grieving over the corpse of her husband, Edward, Prince of Wales (Dorinan Ford). The second and third photos also show Anne, who is joined by the Duchess of York (Annette Crosbie) in the latter.

With thanks to Nadine for these photos.

Overview

This programme is a traditional adaptation of The Tragedy of Richard III, which chronicles the ruthless monarch's rise to power and brief reign, during the fifteenth century.

When Edward, Prince of Wales, dies, his widow, Lady Anne Neville, falls under Richard's malevolent spell. Scheming Richard ingratiates himself with the young noblewoman, despite confiding to the audience that he is responsible for the deaths of both Edward and his father. Anne becomes a pawn in Richard's pursuit of power.

The programme is particularly notable for preserving almost all of Shakespeare's text and is presented very much like a stage performance, with a relatively spartan set. It was produced for the extraordinarily ambitious BBC Television Shakespeare series, in which thirty-seven of our greatest playwright's works were broadcast between 1978 and 1985.

Cast

Ron Cook ... Richard III

Peter Benson ... Henry VI

Julia Foster ... Queen Margaret

Rowena Cooper ... Queen Elizabeth

Zoë Wanamaker ... Lady Anne Neville

. Annette Crosbie ... Duchess of York

Brian Protheroe ... Edward IV

Anthony Brown ... Sir Richard Ratcliffe

David Burke ... Sir William Catesby

Michael Byrne ... Duke of Buckingham

Anne Carroll ... Jane Shore

Paul Chapman ... Earl Rivers

Brian Deacon ... Henry, Earl of Richmond

Jeremy Dimmick ... Young Duke of York

Tenniel Evans ... Lord Stanley

Derek Farr ... Sir Robert Brakenbury, Earl of Surrey

Dorinan Ford ... Edward, Prince of Wales

Derek Fuke ... Sir Thomas Vaughan

Alex Guard ... Marquess of Dorest

Bernard Hill ... Sir William Brandon

Paul Jesson ... George, Duke of Clarence

Patsy Kensit ... Lady Margaret Plantagenet

Oengus MacNamara ... Halberdier, Lord Lovell

Nick Reding ... Ghost of the Prince of Wales

Mark Wing-Davey ... Sir James Tyrrel

Peter Wyatt ... Duke of Norfolk

Arthur Cox ... Lord Grey, Lord Mayor of London

David Daker ... Lord Hastings

Crew

Writer: William Shakespeare
Director: Jane Howell
Producer: Shaun Sutton
Costume Designer: John Peacock
Sound: Alan Edmonds

Merchandise

The Tragedy of Richard III Region 2 DVD

The BBC TV Shakespeare Collection Region 1 DVD Boxset (contains The Tragedy of Richard III, alongside all of the other plays in the series)

Richard III by William Shakespeare