Richard III (A Noise Within's 2026 Production) Theatre Review

The new production of Richard III at A Noise Within sets Shakespeare's play in the 1970s. There is always a risk in setting Shakespeare's plays in modern times, especially the histories, as those plays are about specific people from specific times. It sometimes feels like setting a play about Abraham Lincoln in, say, the 1950s. But it can work, and in fact the 1995 film version of Richard III, which gave the play a 1930s setting, succeeded brilliantly. And as any Ricardian will tell you, the play likely doesn't accurately represent the historical personage anyway. So what we are left with is a fascinating, captivating, twisted character that is not tied to its original historical period. The success of the play largely hinges upon the performance of Richard, and Ann Noble does an absolutely outstanding job in this production. She is riviting in the role, embodying the humor, the cruelty and, yes, the power of the character, and even making us feel for him in those more human moments. And because her Richard is so damn good at wooing the audience, we completely understand how other characters side with him. And Ann Noble isn't alone in turning in a phenomenal performance. This production features an excellent cast, including Erika Soto as Lady Anne, Trisha Miller as Queen Margaret, and Lynn Robert Berg as Buckingham. In addition to that, there are some incredible touches throughout the performance, both in the way the set is handled and the way light and sound cues punch up the emotional impact of a moment, and adding to the excitement of the production. Directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos, this ended up being one of the best productions of Richard III I've seen.

As folks enter the theatre, early 1970s rock and pop songs are playing, songs like Free's "All Right Now," Jethro Tull's "Aqualung," and David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World." The set features a pile of chairs center stage, a sort of sculpture on an otherwise empty black platform in front of a dark backdrop. As the performance begins, the cast appears on the other side of the backdrop, then lifts it to enter. There is an interesting moment where they stop before the pile of chairs, as if questioning how it got there and how they should proceed. A brief moment of hesitation before everyone springs into action, grabbing chairs and setting them up. And that sets the tone for this production, which increases in pace as it goes. Revealed by the removal of the final chair is the crown and sheets of paper, both red and white, which signify the roses of Lancaster and York. What an exciting and meaningful way to begin the performance, the crown being at the center of the disarray. 

Interestingly, the first lines spoken in this production are not the first lines of Richard The Third, but rather lines from Richard The Second: "This earth of majesty...This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England." A brief history lesson is enacted, with snippets from Shakespeare's plays, including a bit of the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry The Fifth, as well as a few lines from that play's epilogue. Also spoken is that famous line from The Third Part Of King Henry The Sixth: "O, tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide," for Queen Margaret plays an important role in this production. And there is Richard's line to Henry VI, "Die, prophet, in thy speech." It is a lot to take in, but helps set up the idea of how the crown traveled from king to king in a rather crooked line, leading to where this play begins. As Richard turns his back on us, there is actually a sense of celebration around him. The chairs, by the way, are used as percussion. And as the others disappear, Richard turns to the audience and delivers the first line of the text, "Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this son of York."

We in the audience are immediately taken in by Richard. He takes great pleasure in his speech, which is wonderful. Dressed in a suit, Richard keeps his right hand in his pants pocket, an interesting choice, for it shows an eagerness to keep his weakness hidden, yet also a person's hands in pockets demonstrates a certain nonchalance. The phrase "That dogs bark at me" is delivered with pride, almost like he is bragging, which is delightful. And after Clarence is led in, his hands bound behind him, Richard's line "when men are rul'd by women" receives a big laugh at least in part because this Richard is played by a woman. Richard's simple "Go" also gets a big laugh, as Clarence is led off into darkness. In such a brief time, Richard has managed to woo the audience, just as he will soon woo Lady Anne. That is part of what makes that difficult Lady Anne scene believable. Anyone taking on the challenge of playing Lady Anne must make an audience believe that she can go from wanting to kill Richard to agreeing to being his wife all in the span of one scene. Erika Soto is certainly up for that challenge, and is magnificent in the scene. Her reaction to Richard's "Your bed-chamber" is great, the way the line stops her cold. And then his "Your beauty" stops her in a different way, and we see she is caught a little by surprise by that. Richard uses different tactics to achieve his ends, Ann Noble raising her voice on "kill me with a living death," which captures Lady Anne's attention. And here Shakespeare lets Richard speak uninterrupted for a time, which shows that Anne is listening and considering what is being said. I love how torn Lady Anne is, and how she is as shocked as we in the audience are when she stops Richard's hand that holds the knife. It's an incredible scene, and after it, Richard has a new energy, taking great joy in learning the extent of his ability, which seems to have surprised even himself, to have successfully wooed a woman in front of the corpse of a man that he murdered. It is then that we see he feels capable of anything. It is a great and startling moment.

As I mentioned, Queen Margaret plays an important role in this production, and that is made clear from her first appearance on stage, the action freezing for her asides from above, giving her the complete focus of the audience. Played by Trisha Miller, who was outstanding as Goneril in the 2017 production of King Lear and wonderful as both Hippolyta and Titania in 2023's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Margaret commands our attention. She is excellent when addressing and confronting Queen Elizabeth (Lesley Fera), and then even more powerful when turning on Richard. Lynn Robert Berg is also excellent as Duke of Buckingham, particularly as he shows that he is conflicted at this early juncture as to where his allegiance lies, perhaps almost swayed by Margaret's words. He is last to exit, and casts a look to Richard before he leaves, a wonderful moment. Randolph Thompson is particularly good as Duke of Clarence in the scene in the Tower, captivating even as he describes his dream. And Alex Neher and Wes Guimaraes are excellent as the two Murderers. There is some delightful comedy to this scene, as when the Murderers pause waiting for the "passionate humor" of the Second Murderer to change. Clarence remains seated as he talks to them, showing no threat to them, and also no fear. It isn't until "for my brother, for his sake" that he stands. And he only becomes fearful when learning it is Richard who sent them. As the Murderers do their job, we see Margaret above watching like a spectre. As she will do throughout the play whenever there is talk of her curse falling on someone. She watches the workings of her curse unfold, making it feel inevitable. 

King Edward (Neill Fleming), after hearing the news of Clarence's death, has his speech punctuated by coughs, and is soon overtaken by a coughing fit. But it is his soft, thoughtful delivery of "poor soul" that really draws us to him. It's a nice moment. And it helps us to feel some of the anguish that Elizabeth feels when she next enters. It is when Buckingham enters with Richard that we are certain which camp he has chosen. Interestingly, Buckingham takes a certain joy in being a villain as well, showing how being in Richard's presence has rubbed off on his own character. It makes him seem almost like Richard's pet, that he's trying to impress Richard by being as dastardly as he. But soon we see that Buckingham doesn't quite have it in him, laughing at Richard's "Chop off his head" until realizing Richard is in earnest regarding Hastings' fate. And Samuel Garnett is really good as Hastings in the scene wherein he learns what his fate is to be. There is a particularly good moment with the young princes, when on "on your shoulders," the younger attempts to get on Richard's back and Richard reacts promptly, getting upset, displaying a weakness. But there is no weakness detected when he receives Hastings' head in a box. That box is dropped without any ceremony, and with a thud, on a chair, which is both chilling and darkly humorous. As is Ann Noble's fantastic delivery of "you know my mother lives."

Margaret's line "Bear with me; I am hungry for revenge" is plainly stated, which is great. Trisha Miller is fantastic in the scene with Elizabeth and the Duchess of York (Veralyn Jones, who was excellent as Olivia in last year's production of Twelfth Night by Antaeus Theatre Company). I especially love the change in Margaret's demeanor when Elizabeth asks for her help in learning to curse. In that moment, Margaret lets go of some of her animosity, some of her anger, as their woes align them. The women of this play face so much agony. And Veralyn Jones does a particularly good job in the scene where she confronts Richard. On "my most grievous curse," she manages to rise from her wheel chair, and both her anger and her pain are striking. The pain at coming to hate her own son, something that is probably unimaginable for most parents. Lesley Fera also shines as Elizabeth in that scene as she reacts to Richard's declaration that he wants to marry her daughter. 

In the scene where Richard and his cohorts manipulate others to make him king, Richard carries a copy of the Bible, holding it up in such a way that all can see it, using it as a prop much in the way a certain fascist in the White House did in recent times. This is a scene that really strikes home with us in the U.S., for in it the people are easily misled by Richard's feigning of a religious air, which is terribly familiar here. That 1995 film version of Richard III that I mentioned earlier addressed fascism, and now we are dealing with fascism in our own country, though of course the leader of that movement has none of the wit of Richard. There is something frighteningly delicious about Richard's delivery of "let us to our holy work again," for we know exactly what his sort of work entails. Tyrrell in this production is female, which somehow makes what she does all the worse, all the colder. There is also physical distance between us and that character, as she is as far upstage as possible and receives a phone call from Richard to find out whether the deed was done. The modern setting is felt largely in the costumes, but there are other elements at play regarding the period, such as the use of phones and when sirens blare before Richard asks, "What say the citizens?" And Catesby uses a megaphone to speak to the crowd from above. And when Richmond enters, it is to a heavy rock sound. 

The performance moves quickly, the action accelerating as it drives to its climax. Tony Pasqualini is excellent as Lord Stanley in the scene where Richard accuses him of betrayal. He raises his voice on "Most mighty sovereign," and that seems to work on Richard, but perhaps only to an extent, for Richard then demands that Lord Stanley leave behind his son. For at this point Richard can't trust anyone, and there is a great moment where he stands over the prone messenger, demanding, "bring better news." There is a wonderful use of images on a screen to depict the series of ghosts that appear to both Richard and Richmond in their sleep. And Richard's "Soft! I did but dream" speech upon waking is delivered while he remains supine on his cot. He sits up before "My conscience hath a thousand several tongues," and on "There is no creature loves me," Ann Noble allows a bit of humanity to show. Might we in the audience be again wooed to his side through that sign of humanity? It is interesting that just a bit later Richard says, "conscience is but a word that cowards use." For, having spoken the word himself upon waking, is he then admitting to some cowardice of his own? If so, it doesn't show, for the battle is fierce, upon sheets of white and red papers, Margaret then witness to one last result of her curse. This production is one hell of a great ride.

This production of Richard III runs through March 8, 2026. Visit the theatre's website for the complete schedule. There is one intermission, which comes at the end of Act III Scene v. A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., in Pasadena, California. There is a free parking garage at 149 N. Halstead Street.