RICHARD III. Von William Shakespeare

Directed byAlexander Vaassen| StarringNicole Kersten, Antonia Kallinowski, Pia Noll, andStefanie Winner

Premiere: February 7, 2026

Richard III is one of the most fascinating and sinister villains in world literature. Shakespeare’s most famous royal drama is a masterful psychological portrait of evil and, at the same time, a showcase for the analysis of power and manipulation. By giving a detailed voice not only to the treacherous title character—who will stop at nothing to seize power—but also to the people around him, Shakespeare dissects the fateful political dynamics that make the rise of a ruthless opportunist seem inevitable. Yet another menacing uncertainty hangs over the events: Is a society even capable of regulating the elemental force of evil, which apparently reawakens with unsettling reliability after prolonged periods of stability and peace? In his first production at the Theater im Bauturm, director Alexander Vaassen will not only shed light on the social contexts that enable Richard’s transgressive behavior, but will also pose a much more fundamental question: Why does evil keep returning?

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