Review: Richard III, Hull Truck Theatre

First some context. Wind back to 1992 and Hull-born actor Barrie Rutter was feeling a little frustrated with the guardians of British theatre. An uncompromising sort, Rutter thought that the RSC wasn't the only way to do Shakespeare and Northern Broadsides was born in a boatshed of his home city with a production of Richard III.

Mat Fraser and Dean Whatton in Northern Broadsides' Richard III. Picture by Nobby Clarke.

The company’s 25th anniversary happily coincides with Hull’s year as UK City of Culture and it’s fitting then that back with that same play not in the boat shed, but in the more comfortable surrounds of Hull Truck Theatre.

It was a brave move to cast Mat Fraser in the central role. Not because the choice of a disabled actor might have been misread as a publicity stunt, but because aside from once playing Puck, Fraser is a southerner Shakespeare novice.

Rutter’s belief in his newest company member is rewarded. Fraser’s is a beautifully villainous portrayal of a man who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the crown and any fears he had about not doing justice to the part unfounded.

The women here also show steel. From Catherine Kinsella’s Lady Anne to Christine Cox as the matriarchal Duchess they run the whole gamut of emotions.

This isn’t a seamless production. The first half runs away a little, with some of the key plot changes lost in frenetic delivery. However, by the second half the company has hit its stride and the final battle scene is a thing of beauty.

Rutter’s aim has always been to give the northern voice a stage and a quarter of a century from that first curtain going up, he has done it again. Happy Birthday.

To May 27 and then at the Viaduct Theatre, Halifax from May 30 to June 3. 01422 255266, deanclough.com