10 years ago, a skeleton was discovered beneath a Leicester Car Park. It was later confirmed to be that of English king Richard III.
At the end of August, Arthur Hughes (currently playing the title role in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Richard III) paid a special visit to Leicester. Joined by Director Gregory Doran they headed to the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester to rediscover the man behind one of Shakespeare’s most notorious ‘villains’.
The pair’s visit included a Guided Tour of the historic Visitor Centre. An audio-visual tour through the history of the War of the Roses. It charted Richard’s rise to power and the unsolved mystery of the murder of the Princes in the Tower. Doran and Hughes also experienced an interactive timeline of the archaeological dig and a 3D construction of the King’s skeleton.
Their visit concluded with viewing the site where Richard’s remains were buried over 500 years ago. It has now been transformed into a glass-floored contemplative space for visitors.
Commenting on the visit, Arthur Hughes said: “After spending the last nine months with Shakespeare’s Richard III, to finally be in the site where his body was found was a fantastic experience. As a disabled actor, I’ve spent a lot of time understanding the psychological shape of Richard III. To finally understand the physical shape of him and to know that this was a famous disabled king, is something very important as is to be playing this very famous disabled part, which historically has – not enough – been played by a disabled actor.”
How can I see RSC’s production of Richard III?
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s current production of Richard III runs until Saturday 8 October 2022 in Stratford-upon-Avon. The production will be broadcast to cinemas across the UK from 28 September 2022. The production will also be broadcast live in UK classrooms for free on Thursday 24 November.
Ticket information for this production is available on their website.
Find out how the Visitor Centre marked its 10th anniversary!
