RICHARD 3

 Solo performance by Aram Tafreshian and Malaya Stern Takeda

State Theater Cottbus 2021

DIRECTOR | Aram Tafreshian

ACTRESS | Malaya Stern Takeda

STAGE | COSTUME | LIGHTING DESIGN | Mara-Madeleine Pieler

MUSIC| SOUND | Ralph Heidel

DRAMATURGY | Susanne Hentschel

VIDEO | Berfîn Ağca Karakurt, Can Karaalioğlu

PHOTOS | Simeon Melchior | Marlies Kross

WITH VOICES | Torben Appel | SoMarkus Paul | Sophie Bock | Kai Börner | Sigrun Fischer | Gunnar Golkowski | Amadeus Golfer | Thomas Harms | Sophie Scheidweil | Lisa Schützenberger | Lucie Luise Thiede | Susann Thiede  

The bloody time of the Wars of the Roses is over. Peace finally reigns in the English kingdom. But the peace lasts only a short time: Richard, the king's brother, wants to ascend the throne himself. He decides to become a rogue. Richard is an outsider. He is considered ugly and dangerous, not made for the crown. Therefore, to become king, he must scheme even better than his competitors. Unscrupulously, he lies and murders until he achieves his goal. But what should he do with his newfound power? - Malaya Stern Takeda plays a Richard who is not only a villain, but a man, woman and child all at once. And how does a present-day Richard actually look back on the tremendous upheavals that followed his reign, on the rise of misogyny and modernity? 

Richard is an outsider. He was not born to be king. Standing in his way are both his brother, the reigning king, and a number of other pretenders to the throne. Above all, he is considered ugly and hideous, not made for the crown and peace. Since the whole game seems rigged, Richard decides to cheat even better than his competitors. He murders ruthlessly. Not because he is an outsider, but because he wants to play the power game of a poisoned society, perhaps even better than the others. On his way to the throne, he kills and schemes, lies and cheats, until he is finally crowned king. But what is he to do with his newfound power? The period between the reign of Richard III and Shakespeare's drama is one of tremendous upheaval. How does a contemporary Richard view these changes? What can he tell us about devastating attributions, the rise of misogyny, and modernity? With texts by Laurie Penny and Silvia Federici, actress Malaya Stern Takeda, director Aram Tafreshian, and dramaturg Susanne Hentschel, together with set designer Mara-Madeleine Pieler and musician Ralph Heidel, illuminate a Richard who is man and woman and child all at once.