This 'Richard III' restores faith in the Bard

Last time I visited "Richard III," only overwhelming fatigue kept me from running out of the theater. The desire was there, but a leaden and thoroughly false staging had sapped every ounce of energy. It confirmed a private theory: Really good Shakespeare is divine; bad Shakespeare is excruciating.

Many theater companies don't appreciate Shakespeare's high difficulty factor, assuming that a semieloquent recitation of words with a dash of bombast and scenery-chewing gets the job done. They forget the humanity -- the reality of characters -- that makes the dialogue ring with life.

So with the memory of that turgid evening, I stopped by Ten Thousand Things' production of "Richard III" last week at the Stephens Community Center in Minneapolis. Intimate, articulate, so emotionally honest that we wait aching for each line, this staging affirms another personal opinion: Ten Thousand Things produces this community's best Shakespeare. I felt that way at "Winter's Tale" in 2004, and again -- even more so -- last year with their "Merchant of Venice." Three's the charm.

The Richard III Society has worked overtime to rehabilitate the historic king's image. Indeed, a BBC mock trial in 1984 acquitted him of the bloody crimes ascribed to his role in the last gasps of Plantagenet rule. Nonetheless, Shakespeare's take on the hunchbacked monarch has persisted, and actor Bob Davis plays the script without a shred of ambiguity in director Michelle Hensley's staging. This character has become an archetype for centuries of villains, and Davis seems to understand the psychology of a man who overcomes his stunted body with ruthless ambition.

Initially gleeful at the effect of his menace, Davis' Richard grows in hubris. His madness turns more steely, less charming, once he steps over the corpses and ascends the throne. The suave cunning turns brittle, the madness emerges and karma deals its swift blow in a battlefield defeat.

Hensley cast her show with all men, not a novel idea given that Shakespeare wrote at a time when women weren't allowed as actors. But the director's vision is more than just a latter-day gimmick. "Richard III" bristles with such brutal masculinity that the decision makes perfect sense. Further, Kathy Kohl's costume design uses only a series of plastic hoops lashed together to indicate femininity. Without wigs, elaborate gowns or other attempts to hide the artifice, a thumping testosterone confronts us.

The cast's clarity of emotion cuts through much of Shakespeare's rhetoric. Richard Ooms gives a brilliant portrait of hysterical Margaret, accusing Richard of murdering her husband. Shawn Hamilton's Buckingham seems to drift along in obeisance to Richard's madness until we see a palpable moment when he realizes the monarch's insatiable cruelty. Jim Lichtscheidl straddles the submission of Lady Anne and the ice-cold attitude of Tyrrel, the assassin. And Craig Johnson translates the deep-seated humiliation of Richard's unfortunate mother, the Duchess of York. Johnson's performance feels organic and unforced in its rage.

This is such a crisp staging. Richard's layers of deceit become transparent, and the lessons for our world today stand in stark relief. Beware the ruler who dares his subjects to disbelieve their own eyes, or who persuades underlings to propagate his avarice. Obvious? Yes, of course, which makes it all the more puzzling why other productions fall flat. Sometimes brilliance is nothing more than making clear what is already clear.

As usual with Ten Thousand Things shows, we owe a nod to the stark percussive musical accompaniment, this time provided by Erik Barsness. Heather Barringer, whose track record with this company is sterling, takes over the musical duties for the public shows the next few weekends.

Hensley and her cast restore our faith in the power of Shakespeare with this staging. It is worth seeing again and again.

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299