Richard III
'Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York'
Shakespeare's final drama of the Wars of the Roses cycle begins as the dust settles on England after bloody civil war, and the bitter hunchback Richard, brother of the king, secretly plots to seize the throne. Charming and duplicitous, powerfully eloquent and viciously cruel, he is prepared to go to any lengths to achieve his goal. Richard III shows a man who, in his skilful manipulation of events and people, is a chilling incarnation of the temptations of power in a land shocked by war.
Used and Recommended by the National Theatre
General Editor Stanley Wells
Edited by E. A. J. Honigmann
Introduction by Michael Taylor
William Shakespeare was born in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and died in 1616. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham and Honorary President of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Ernst Honigmann was Professor of English Literature at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Michael Taylor was formerly Professor of English at the University of New Brunswick in Canada.