Edinburgh Fringe 2025
1 King, 2 Princes and Shakespeare’s Lie
Slade Wolfe Enterprises Limited
Genre: Historical, New Writing, Theatre
Venue: TheSpaceUK
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A king. A traitor. A villain. Or was he? History tells us Richard III was a ruthless usurper, a murderer, a monster. But history is written by the victors – and truth is not always what it seems. In this one-man performance, Richard returns to confront the myths, the lies and the Shakespearean legend that made him infamous. Fact and fiction collide as he defends his name, The final verdict? That’s for the audience to decide.
Review
Opens to a soundscape of overlapping voices delivering the opening to Shakespeare’s famous first speech – lines so well known that even those who have never seen the play are familiar with them. It sets the scene perfectly. Initially cloaked in black, Richard faces us: ‘This is how you see me – but who told you this tale?’ From here, we’re invited into an intriguing journey through evidence and counter-evidence, a steady dismantling of the centuries-old image of the ruthless, power-hungry despot Shakespeare, and Tudor propaganda, have bequeathed us.
Richard’s crowning as King after the death of his brother, Edward IV and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower both loom large. We hear how much they meant to him, why they were declared illegitimate, and later that there is no evidence that they died during Richard’s reign. In fact, his successor, Henry VII had more reason to order their deaths as his claim to the crown depended greatly on neither of them being able to make a counter claim. And he couldn’t leave them illegitimate as his claim relied on marrying their sister. Medieval politics were a complicated and often dangerous business.
Richard points out that no contemporary chronicler claimed they died during his reign, and that the famous staircase beneath which two skeletons were found in the 17th century hadn’t been built in the 1483.. Throughout the show Richard throws doubt on entrenched theories, questions myths, and methodically debunks Shakespeare’s version of events – all delivered with gravitas and feeling.
Alongside the political defence, there are glimpses of Richard’s lesser-known achievements – that he standardised weights and measures was a new one for me.
The writing, also by Slade, is thorough, richly researched, and unapologetically Ricardian – unsurprising when our narrator is defending himself rather than delivering an academic treatise. His Richard argues convincingly that Henry VII reshaped the past to justify his own future and that Elizabeth I used that past to cement the House of Tudor. Soundscapes of Shakespeare’s lines and incidental music are well judged, creating an eerie atmosphere while underscoring how those words have echoed across centuries. The opening cloak device worked well to anchor us in the present before leading us into a reframed history.
Slade’s stage presence is commanding from the outset. His pauses are theatrical in the best sense, his intonation nicely shaped. He shifts easily from conspiratorial, almost chatty asides, to moments of melancholy reflection, although there were places where I felt he could dwell a little longer with the frustration and anger he hints at in the script. A powerful moment is the one where he reminds us that history is written – and rewritten – by those who shout the loudest.
The research behind it is impeccable and great care has been taken to present as accurate a picture as is possible based on the most recent research. Which is important given how much drama has not served Richard in the past! At the same time it would be exciting to see this drama develop and explore both the inner Richard and hear more of how those around him saw him.
The evening closes with a vote: the Red Rose or the White? Unsurprisingly, the arguments swayed most of the audience…
