News

Richard III has been going down a storm here at TFT. We’ve been delighted by the audience and reviewer feedback we’ve had. Here’s a smattering of what the reviewers have been saying.

“Andrew Hilton’s superb revival…. As in all Hilton’s productions it is the clarity of the storytelling and the attention to detail that makes Shakespeare slip down so easily, with every character brought fully to life. John Mackay…usurps not just the crown, but the very stage itself”
**** The Guardian
Full review here

‘Have the ghosts that appear to Richard III ever been better done? ...Fading and glowing in the blackness, the past comes back to haunt the present. How apt that this should be so, just as Richard’s own skeleton has been discovered: Andrew Hilton has parked his production with perfect timing. ... John Mackay’s Richard is constantly unsettling. He looks like an eel wrapped in velvet, but is as quizzically attentive as a falcon, his head slightly to one side sizing up the prey. He is not histrionic but more dangerous.’
The Observer
Full review here

“Kevin Spacey and Mark Rylance have given us a couple of highly effective Richards recently. Mackay gives a quieter but just as compelling reading of a man who smooth-talks and murders his way to his stint at the top.”
*** The Times
Full review here

“Mackay’s Richard is first-rate. He captures his love of dissembling, his will to power, his desire to control others. He is convincing as seducer, plotter and fighter. He looks unnerving with his peroxide blond crew-cut and his withered arm, uneven gait and his cold dead eyes.”
**** Whatsonstage
Full review here

“John Mackay, returning to the company in the title role after several successful seasons with the RSC, ensures that Richard is no unhappy hero who falls from power because of a fatal flaw. He both starts and ends a villain, albeit one with audacity and wit who delights in his own wickedness.”
The Stage
Full review here

‘The final fight is a work of art: Richard against Richmond, a vigorous and crucial dance between a terrible strength and a beautiful strength.’
****Exeunt Magazine
Full review here

“John Mackay flies in the face of expectation and gives Bristol audiences a truly original force of nature in his reading of Richard.”
**** The Public Reviews
Full review here

“There is a whiff of Tarantino – the spine-chilling combination of black humour and extreme violence.”
**** The Arts Desk
Full review here

“This is a performance which is experienced rather than viewed. Unexpectedly hilarious in its gleeful sadism, it almost mirrors Tarantino in its unrelenting, guiltily pleasurable violence.”
**** Plays To See
Full review here

“Hilton has once again caught the mood of a play with a light touch and a wonderful gift for coaxing the most beautiful verse-speaking from his cast.”
A Younger Theatre
Full review here

“The verbal battle with Lisa Kay’s deeply passionate Queen Elizabeth, wonderfully staged by director Andrew Hilton making use of every inch of the acting area, was a scene to savour.”
8/10 This is Bristol
Full review here

“A brilliant performance - controlled, darkly amusing - a man skilled at manipulating his way to the top.”
***** The Strawberry Lines
Full review here

“An enthralling journey through our great Bard’s famously unhistorical history.”
Gazette Series
Full review here

Audience Feedback

@_JesseMeadows_ via Twitter: Men dying women wailing @tftheatre #RichardIII wonderfully evil-fascinating character to watch for 3 hrs! @harrietdewinton beautiful design,

‏@conorfryan via Twitter: Fine portrayal of Machiavellian villainy by John Mackay with strong cast in fast-paced Richard III production @tftheatre Bristol tonight.

@louisebaker243 via Twitter: Another successful show @tftheatre! Bristolians if you can go and see #RichardIII it was brilliant! #shakespeare #EPIC

@JulianMarkOwen via Twitter: Magnificent Richard III @tftheatre. John Mackay properly, capriciously unnerving in lead role, and whole cast allowing verse to do the work.

‏@jonWturney via Twitter: Enjoyed @tftheatre’s Richard III last night - a disturbingly convincing psychotic…