Richard the Kid & the King

Based on William Shakespeare
adapted by Karin Henkel, Sybille Meier, and Andrea Schwieter
With texts from “Eddy the King” and “Battles!” by Tom Lanoye and Luk Perceval
Translated into German by Rainer Kersten

Directed by Karin Henkel

A co-production with the Salzburg Festival 2021

He was a difficult birth. Richard III’s arrival in the world is overshadowed by strange omens. Might it have been better if this child had never been born? Richard’s mother, the Duchess of York, senses something ominous: from the very beginning, her son remains a mystery to her, a stranger. No sooner can she begin to love him than he encounters rejection everywhere else as well. Later, as a young man, he proves to be extremely cold-blooded, brutal—and successful—in the battles for the English crown. Are a thirst for power, ruthlessness, and a destructive fury the result of a shattered childhood? Can the causes be traced to social and family contexts, or is there simply no exhaustive explanation for the existence of egomaniacal and malicious power-hungry individuals? With Richard III, one of the greatest antiheroes in theatrical literature takes the stage: shameless, greedy, violent—the very embodiment of evil. At the same time, he is a major attraction in Shakespeare’s universe: perceptive, witty, hypocritical, seductive. He knows how easily people can be manipulated; he is a master liar, a virtuoso at exploiting others and at relishing the art of self-promotion. A stroke of genius that makes this role an extraordinary acting challenge to this day.
Karin Henkel takes the royal dramas *Henry VI* and *Richard III* as the starting point for her production. Using texts from *Schlachten!* by Tom Lanoye and Luc Perceval, translated by Rainer Kersten, she focuses in *Richard the Kid* on Richard’s childhood and family history—the time before he seized power. For years, the Houses of York and Lancaster have been waging bitter and bloody battles for the English throne in the so-called “Wars of the Roses.”
In “Richard the King,” Karin Henkel explores the political context surrounding the infamous ruler. Why do they all play along, even though they know about Richard’s lies and deceit? How does Richard manage the cynical balancing act of despising people to the core on the one hand, yet winning them over for his own purposes on the other?

Shakespeare powerfully illustrates the collective failure of an entire country and the distortion of an insecure society whose increasing brutalization makes the tyrant’s rise possible in the first place. What remains unsettling is what lies behind our pleasure in following Richard through his darkest schemes.

For her role as Richard in “Richard the Kid & the King,” Lina Beckmann received the 2021 NESTROY Theater Award in the “Best Actress” category and was also honored with the Gertrud Eysoldt Ring. In the annual survey conducted by the trade journal *Theater heute*, she was named Best Actress of the Year for her outstanding performance in the lead role of “Richard the Kid & the King.” She also received the German Theater Prize DER FAUST in the category of Acting for her role.
 

Cast: Lina Beckmann, Sachiko Hara, Paul Herwig, Matti Krause, Alexander Maria Schmidt, Maik Solbach, Kate Strong, Bettina Stucky, Kristof Van Boven, and Michael Weber

Director: Karin Henkel
Set Design: Katrin Brack
Costumes: Klaus Bruns
Lighting: Rainer Casper
Music: Arvild J. Baud
Dramaturgy: Sybille Meier and Andrea Schwieter

More info:Richard the Kid & the King | Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg