A Shakespeare play in New York’s Central Park will feature a titular king who experiences “otherness” by being black and who is played by a woman excited to explore the role’s “toxic masculinity.”
Danai Gurira, a black actress best known for her roles in Black Panther and The Walking Dead, said performing the title role in Richard III, which has been played by famous actors such as Laurence Olivier, Ian McKellen, and Mark Rylance, was an interesting way to explore “toxic masculinity” from the inside, according to NPR.
“Is there a different experience the audience has when they hear misogyny come through a female body?” Gurira asked. “Does it highlight it more? Does it sharpen it in terms of how grotesque it is? And I hope it does.”
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The character of Richard frequently references his physical disabilities, and the play has had a history of performers showing his disabilities in a physical way. However, in this iteration of the play, Richard’s “otherness” is his “blackness,” according to director Robert O’Hara.
“He’s dealing with the otherness compared to his family, in terms of not being Caucasian and fair like them,” Gurira said, noting the word “fair” is used several times in the script.
O’Hara praised Gurira’s performance, saying she pushes the boundaries of who can portray which roles onstage.
“It is not just the domain of sort of white cis men to play kings and queens, right?” O’Hara said. “And I think when you put that body on stage, it changes the chemistry of the story. What makes Shakespeare a classic is that it still works, no matter who’s in the space. And that you can sort of stretch it and pull it. And it’s still Richard III. And that’s what we’re excited for people to see.”
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Richard III will be playing in Central Park through July 17.
The Public Theater did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
