Shakespeare-Richard III (1983 TV) - Act 1, scene 3, part 1

the scene with The Queen and Queen Margaret.

wonderful to see the Margaret role uncut!




William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Richard the Third", Act 1, scene 3, lines 1- 218 (sorry for the insensitive side break!)

Ron Cook ... Richard III
Michael Byrne ... Duke of Buckingham
Paul Chapman ... Earl Rivers
Rowena Cooper ... Queen Elizabeth
Arthur Cox ... Lord Grey, Lord Mayor of London
Julia Foster ... Queen Margaret

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• RichardIII
• Ron
• Cook
• Shakespeare
• RonCook
• Julia
• Foster
• JuliaFoster

[Lothriel]

It's worth keeping in mind that this is a public scene, where Richard must present himself in the way he wishes to be viewed by his peers.

Ron Cook's Richard is a great actor (unlike, for e.g., Sir Ian, who is so unsubtle that one wonders how anyone could have believed his lies); his "pitiable" carriage makes him believable to those he is fooling - which includes us, his audience!

This Richard (the voice, stature, tenacity, vulnerability, etc.) is still the best Richard I've ever seen. :)

[Fitzgilbert]

Ron Cook is either a genius or the worst actor in the world. I can't tell if his sickly, weak-willed and pitiable portrayal of Richard is intentional or not.

[bloodfyr]

@Lothriel

I cannot help but agree with you. During Richard's monologue in the opening scene of this production and he gets up close to the camera and smirks devilishly as he lays out his plot? I get chills every time I watch it.

[musicgalore30]

I like to say that each actor had a different way of playing Richard. Cook played on Richard's role of Vice Inequity, Olivier played on his evilness, and McKellen focused on Richard's skills as on actor.

Different focuses, different performances. So one performance may impresses some people, but not others. Personally, this is my fave.

[oscar3eyes]

Julia Foster here sets the standard for Queen Margaret. Brilliant actress.

According to Wikipedia she now sells antique furniture in England.

[Fitzgilbert]

@sandralynnsparks It's an interesting interpretation, but i've always thought that Richard had to be confident and charismatic to do the things he did.

[sandralynnsparks]

@Fitzgilbert The acting is quite good. He's using the tools an insinuator would use. Richard had to insinuate himself to power, not just take it. It's also one of the rare times I've seen Richard presented as the youngest, smallest brother, the runt of the lot. This is a very good scene.

[sharkylake]

But Amy, this Richard seems the inocent flower, yet is the serpant under it.

[belisariusorb]

@stoneofmorphie Nice test - like your analysis. Nevertheless I prefer this performance, especially within the context of this marathon series.

[belisariusorb]

Both Queens round out the dynamic and very realistic Ron Cook performance. Whatever happened to this fine actor? I haven't seen him in an age.

[wordforger]

He does play the 'wronged man' pretty well, but he comes across as too common for my taste. I can't quite feel him as brother to a king, or a nobleman.

I am glad to see Richard III where there's a Queen Margaret, though. I love her speech where she curses the whole group, but the versions I've seen always cut it, much to my sadness.

[stoneofmorphie]

Of the 4 versions my 16 yr old students looked at, Olivier, McKellen, Cook and Conrad Nelson, they much preferred Olivier as the scariest with his incisive voice and evil eye. I am afraid they did not think much of Ron Cook no matter how good an actor he is. Not scary enough - children like scary performances and Olivier provides that in droves. They enjoyed Olivier’s wicked sense of humour. If plays are about entertainment then Olivier provides it in abundance despite what the purists think.