This fall the Indiana University Department of Theatre and Drama's contribution to IU's Themester 2012 Good Behavior, Bad Behavior is decidedly on the dark side. It's Shakespeare's Richard III with as nasty a villain as one could have bad dreams about.
Guest director Gavin Cameron-Webb is fond of looking for modern metaphors for Shakespeare. He set last year's A Midsummer Night's Dream on a Hollywood sound stage. Richard III is part of a motorcycle gang. "Shakespeare's Richard is in many ways a thug and the depiction of the War of the Roses really does feel like gang warfare," says Cameron-Webb.
Cameron-Webb sees Shakespeare's drama as in some ways a propaganda piece to support the reigning Tudors and the aging Queen Elizabeth. "Part of our effort is to tell the truth from history. Richard III wasn't a hunch back; he was not a murderous, seductive tyrant. But, we're also presenting one of Shakespeare's most popular plays with a fascinating larger than life villain."