steveatplays

I have loved Kevin Spacey in most things (in the Darwin thing in particular, and also in Speed the Plow), but in Richard III, I thought he was a bit one note OTT (until the last scene). Mark Rylance is not OTT, he's absolutely brilliant, making the most dastardly plans sound plausible, and sometimes even reasonable. He is never the gurning ogre that Kevin Spacey was, and plays so many scenes with a lightness that is refreshing in the role. The all male cast is slightly less effective than the Old Vic's female cast, I felt, although the actor playing Richard's mother in this is terrific. It rained on us (in the yard), in the last half hour, as the ghosts of Richard's conscience were raining down on him, and the effect was actually quite wonderful, and I didn't mind getting soaked.