Richard III at The Den

The concept is irresistible! The royal court in Shakespeare's Richard III envisioned as a roadhouse where rival motorcycle gangs (distinguished by the white and red roses displayed on their riding gear) wrestle for power—none more ruthlessly than the scheming Richard of Gloucester, himself. This analogy is not as bizarre as it may seem: wherever you have veterans of major wars, whether the Viet Nam or the hundred-years variety, you will find outlaw factions springing up among former soldiers uneasy in peacetime, and nostalgic for the brotherhood associated with military service.

Likewise irresistible was Wayward Productions' decision to stage their revised Shakespeare in the basement of River North's Underground Wonder Bar, amid the site-specific architecture of a long, narrow room with padded benches on its perimeter for sitting and a few hassocks serving as tables. Actors entered and exited through the doors leading to the restrooms or the stairs, while the prison "tower" was suggested by a corner screened off with shower curtains. Following each assassination, barmaids quietly mopped up blood from the floor.

The show's extension, however, mandated a move to Wicker Park and The Den's black-box auditorium, conventionally arranged with a stage at one end, and audience at the other. Director Carlo Lorenzo Garcia recalls the changes necessary to their relocation:

"The Wonder Bar was a character in itself!" he laughs, "Shakespeare's script calls for many locales, but we restricted the action to the London Bar and the adjoining tower. The business with the bartender cleaning up was based in our limited space and needing that same playing area right away. Despite the difficulties, there was an energy, an immediacy and an intimacy to that first production that was very important to what we wanted to do."

Recreating that atmosphere at the Den was no easy task, says Garcia, "Fortunately, the main stage at The Den offered us some flexibility. It was originally set up for proscenium viewing, but with the owner's permission, we separated the risers and moved the seats to place the audience in a three-quarter thrust configuration. This keeps them close to the drama, and, at the same time, squares up the playing space so actors have more room to move around."

There are also some cast changes with this remount. Garcia, himself, now plays Richard (replacing John Byrnes, currently appearing in Henry VIII at Chicago Shakespeare). Jude Roche—recently seen in the Hypocrites' Coriolanus—portrays the betrayed Buckingham, and Sadie Rogers, a Trap Door Theater alumna, plays the cross-gender role of Rivers. Other new cast members include Hilary Williams, Brian Hurst, Jeff Kurysz and Gaby LaBotka.

"Every actor brings their own uniqueness to every role," Garcia reminds me, "and we embrace that individual approach. Jude gives his Buckingham a whole different vibe than before, so that his character now poses a genuine threat to Richard, or to anybody else who tries to take him down. Sadie, too, jumped right in and gave Rivers her own distinct personality. All the new actors have stepped up to make the transition from one production to the next as seamless as possible."

Is there any prospect of the show extending again--maybe in a location not requiring playgoers to climb up or down from street-level?

"The idea from Day One was to make the show something that could tour." Garcia declares."The Den came to us with an offer too worthwhile and challenging to pass up, but if our Richard continues in Chicago past this remount, then, yes, we will pursue a more accessible space."

Wayward Productions' Richard III runs at The Den through June 29.

Mary Shen Barnidge
Contributing Writer