Antonio Latella, who directed the extraordinary Hamlet, winner of the UBU 2021 award for best play, for the Piccolo, once again returns to Shakespeare, bringing the dark tale of Richard III to the stage.
Prepared to do whatever he can to become king of England, the main character in the play, here performed by Vinicio Marchioni, is traditionally depicted – as described by the author – as a monstrous soul in a deformed body. With a revolutionary approach, Latella completely changes perspective: «Evil exists. It has no form. Evil is life. Evil is nature. Evil is divine. Our aim is to try and go beyond the outward appearance of evil, to try and perceive its attraction. It is clear that if evil itself is represented by a physical characteristic, the audience is led to accept it, seeing the “monstrosity” and justifying it. The spectators feel empathy, if not fondness, with and for the protagonist. Yet is this “alibi of deformity” still acceptable in this day and age? It is likely that the Bard used it as a way to justify all the evil deeds of the protagonist with the audience. We are more interested in the power and the seductive nature of the word, perhaps even in its foulness».