Here you can find a partial recording of October 1st’s staged reading of Richard III, as well as the Richard III, cut. The recording starts with pre-show music, and the performance proper starts at minute 29. Unfortunately, due to the size of the original audio file and the size of the memory card I was using, the recording only goes to act 4 of the show.
Richard III
And here, the cast list and Jacob Crawford’s program notes for the show:
Cast
Richard, Duke of Gloucester (David Ainsworth)
George, Duke of Clarence, his brother (Richard LeComte)
King Edward IV, his brother (Austin Whitver)
Queen Elizabeth, Edward’s wife (Gabrielle Perkins)
Prince Edward (Bert McLel)
Young Prince (Jennifer Sudduth)
Duchess of York, mother of the brothers (Deborah Parker)
Lady Anne, widow of Prince Edward (Dakota Park-Ozee)
Lord Buckingham (Charles Prosser)
Lord Brackenbury (Renwick Jones)
Lord Catesby (Wes Youngson)
Lord Hastings (Emily Pitts Donahoe)
Lord Rivers (Allison Wheatley)
Lord Stanley (Charles Barkley)
Lord Tyrrel (Alex Ferretti)
Earl of Richmond, King Henry VII (Mark Hughes Cobb)
Crew
Nic Helms (Director)
Jacob Crawford (Assistant Director)
Laurie Arizumi (Music)
Improbable Fictions presents
Richard III
A play by William Shakespeare
Sponsored by the Hudson Strode Program of Renaissance Studies
Brief Overview
Richard III is the fourth and final play in the Henry VI tetralogy. It is one of Shakespeare’s first plays, written between 1592 and 1593, and it is one of his longest plays—second only to the quarto edition of Hamlet. (Fear not, my friends! Our version is abridged!) Although it is grouped among the histories in Shakespeare’s First Folio, it is labeled a tragedy in the Quarto edition. That said, it is a witty, darkly entertaining play that offers a bleak view of kingship and the price of power. Its biting commentary on greed, corruption, and authority is still relevant—especially in light of recent events in the Middle East.
History
Richard III was the King of England between 1483 and 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His death at Bosworth Field marked the end of the War of the Roses and represents the end of the Middle Ages. To this day, Richard III remains one of the most unpopular kings in English history. Although he suffered severe scoliosis, most stories and plays about him, including Shakespeare’s play, exaggerate his monstrous afflictions. (Today, we continue this tradition through our casting of David Ainsworth.)
Sprockets and Springes 