Richard 3

Rose Riley has taken on the unenviable role of Lady Anne in Shakespeare’s Richard 3, which opens the 2017 Bell Shakespeare season.

Lady Anne knows that the deformed Richard has just murdered both her husband Prince Edward and Edward’s father Henry VI when he interrupts her mourning by the side of the former king’s corpse.

Although she calls Richard the “dreadful minister of hell” and “thou lump of foul deformity” she succumbs to his blandishments and agrees to marry him and become his queen.

“Why?” I ask the actress. (I refuse to expunge the feminine form of our English words and risk losing them forever!)

Rose replies: “It’s because she is so vulnerable and traumatised [by the murders] and by the end of the scene she is very lonely and needs the comfort that Richard offers her.”

Rose suggests that Richard’s speech in this crucial Act 1 Scene 2 shows signs of an abusive relationship, in that he blames Lady Anne’s beauty for his attraction to her. “It’s almost like slut shaming,” Rose comments.

Riley plays alongside Kate Mulvany, whom director Peter Evans has cast in the role of Richard for this production.

I ask Rose if this feels odd to her, but she says it is “an absolute fit, I haven’t questioned it once”. She points out that having an actress (there’s that word again) in the role even highlights Richard’s misogyny.

Despite or because of his villainy, Richard 3 is one of the most compelling of Shakespeare’s characters, and we recognise that not only Lady Anne but also the audience is suffering from the Stockholm syndrome as we all fall captive to his evil allure. (ID)

Until Apr 1, varied performance times. Sydney Opera House, Playhouse. $35-$92. Tickets & info: www.bellshakespeare.com.au