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* Richard, Duke of Gloucester – Later King Richard III. Misshapen in physique as in mind, but facially very handsome. After Hamlet, the longest part in a Shakespeare play (1,164 lines).

* Lady Anne – Daughter-in-law of Henry VI, married Richard after wooing over the coffin of her husband, murdered by Richard. She vanishes from the play after being crowned queen.

* Duke of Buckingham – The deep revolving witty guy who helps Richard to the throne,

* George, Duke of Clarence – Valued for his narrative dream in the Tower when the dead Prince

* William, Lord Hastings – An uprighteous Lord Chamber lain whose support for Edward’s heirs, lead him to sudden death.

* Sir James Tyrrel – The vicious associate of Richard who assigns him to murder the innocent Princes at the Tower. He speaks the soliloquy, quoting one of the murderers and informs Richard about the deaths. Later, he is murdered (presumed) letting out a horrified, smothered cry.

* Henry, Earl of Richmond – Later King Henry VII. Richmond fulfills Henry’s prophecy in

Henry VI – Part 3, IV.6 and is the Tudor equivalent to St George destroying the dragon.

* Ghosts – They torture Richard in his dream before Bosworth and urge him to ‘despair and die’ while Richmond in his quiet sleep, ‘live and flourish’ ready to meet the enemy next morning,

Of dukes and knights, of murder and injustice, of greed and power, Shakespeare wrought in a hundred characters to make Richard III his foulest tragedy. How he depended upon history to draw his characters, no one knows and as always, Shakespeare in his writing, was least concerned about the accuracy of characters and events when he evolved a nasty plot into a tragedy.

In Richard III, the greatest injustice was done in the name of power in English history when Richard ordered the murder of his two innocent nephews at the Tower of London for him to become the king. The pitiful deaths of the young royals, have no parallel to date.

Written in 1592-3 and sited in England at a time of corrupt royalty. Richard III is one whole sinister story full of foul deeds and murder where King Richard plots against his own brother, Clarence and the pitiful murder of innocence and tyrannical usurpation. Shakespeare has no more dramatic opening than that in a London street where after they play unfolds.

Strangely, today, there exists a society to clear Richard’s name and to prove that historians such as Thomas More, in a section of Halle’s chronicles, vilified him in the Tudor cause. Yet, little can soften Shakespeare’s blazing melodrama and the first scene here Richard limps downstage to reveal himself in a soliloquy that begins: “Now is the winter of our discontent and made glorious summer by this son of York...” and he continues further, “I am determined to prove a villain and hate the idle pleasures of these days. But Richard has to dispose six people between himself and the throne.

The innocent, young princes, murdered at the Tower of London by Richard III is the greatest injustice done in the annals of English history and perhaps second to shedding of innocent blood after the death of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross

When his dying brother, Edward IV has gone, he takes the crown when he has already removed one and the others to be dealt with later. First comes the dissimulation with his elder brother, the Duke of Clarence. By playing an Edward’s fears, he sends Clarence to the Tower.

Displaying false pity and concern, he confronts the bearers of the coffin of Henry VI whom he had murdered followed by his daughter-in-law, Lady Anne whose husband and her brothers too are killed by Richard. Out of arrogance or mischief, he woos her over the coffin. Out of fear for her life, she yields.

Later, he stirs trouble at courts while the former Queen Margaret, unleashes hatred and humiliation at him. Richard orders the murder of Clarence at the Tower and his corpse pushed into a butt of sweet wine. Overwhelmed by Clarence’s death, King Edward dies.

Gloster : ‘This is the fruit of rashness, Mark’d you not, How that the guilty kindred of the queen,

God will revenge it, Come lords, will you go To comfort Edward with our company...’

With Clarence’s death, the young Prince of Wales is brought from Ludlow. Around this time, Richard and Buckingham along with their associates, have taken charge of the situation, directing affairs the way they wished. When the boy-prince arrives, he is ‘lodged’ in the Tower along with his younger brother, both in their early teens. According to their uncle, Richard, it is for the purpose of the impending coronation.

Richard orders the execution of all the men in the Queen’s party whom he considers dangerous, few at a time. With their last enemy put to death. Buckingham primed and secure, urges the Lord Mayor and citizens of London to urge the unwilling Richard to accept the throne. Once crowned, he makes sure to safeguard himself and inciting Tyrrel to murder the two innocent Princes at the Tower.

‘The tyrannous and bloody act is done – The most arch deed of piteous massacre.

That ever yet this land was guilty of – Dighton and Forrest whom I did stubborn.

To do this piece of ruthless butchery – Albeit they were fleshed villains, bloody dogs.

Melted with tenderness and mild compassion Wept like to children in their death’s sad story – Oh thus lay the gentle babes Within their alabaster innocent arms. Their lips were four red roses on a stalk And in their summer beauty, kissed each other, a book of prayer on their pillow lay.

Richard forsakes his wife to marry to wed his niece, Edward’s daughter, Elizabeth. Buckingham revolts against him and raises an army. The Earl of Richmond lands from France. Richard caught in a web he sees no escape, must fight to keep the throne.

When he goes to war, he meets the invader at Bosworth Field, near Leicester. Buckingham has been captured and executed. But his first danger is Richmond.

The dominant part of the play is the scene in which Richard sees Richmond in a harassed dream prior to the battle and is desperate to kill him. He fights with despair, shouting, “A horse, A horse, my kingdom for a horse, only to be defeated and killed.

A heavily performed play and recognized as melodrama of genius, where Henry VI has too little history. This play has a tremendous advance on its forerunners. The first edition was anonymous but the second that appeared five years later, was in 1623.

Many character actors from around the world acted on stage the role of Richard wallowing in its classicism of past royalty at their deadliest hunger for power. The role offered them to display their histrionics on talents and virtuousity.

Gifted theatre actors like Alan Howard, Alec Guiness, Sir Laurence Olivier, etc fought their way to portray the role of deformed Richard. And there was also the great John Barrymore who joined the parade in 1920. In July 1953, Sir Alec Guinness was a ‘dagger in the heart’ from his first appearance at the opening festival in Stratford, Ontario.

The press called it the most exciting night in the history of the Canadian theatre.