‘If you are looking for a bastard I will gladly play the part.’
Risjaar (Richard) is repulsive. He was born premature, unfinished. He is deformed, limps and is hideously ugly. During the Wars of the Roses, which suddenly broke out after the death of Henry V, Risjaar fought with all his might for his family, alongside his brother Edwaar (Edward). Edwaar is now the king, as a result of several brutal political assassinations devised by his crippled brother. However, the end of the war does not bring Risjaar the peace he has desired for so long.
There is no peace of mind for Risjaar. His distaste for humanity, to which he will never really belong, is too deeply rooted. On the contrary, something has been born, something fuelled. An insight. A craving, a callous and ambitious hunger. An opportunity to rise above himself: ‘If you are looking for a bastard I will gladly play the part.’
After AUGUSTUS ergens op de vlakte (August, Osage County), Tom Dewispelaere and Stijn Van Opstal have once again brought together a first-rate cast.
In his play Richard III, Shakespeare created one of the most memorable monsters in literature. What makes him so attractive is his free and unashamedly cheerful display of amorality. Brazenly inhuman opinions have never sounded so sweet.
Risjaar Drei is a portrait of an elite, a small group of rulers who have reduced politics to a game of chess in backrooms and corridors. The ideal breeding ground for the smartest of them, the most cunning, the most eloquent and the most ruthless to become a perverse dictator. Power as the goal. But what about that power once it is obtained?
What a script, what a cast, what a performance! (...) Even Trump couldn’t compete with this Risjaar. So cunning and so intelligent.
"Typical Antwerp theatre drenched in a voluptuous sauce of power-craziness and first-rate performances by an impressive cast."
"Peter Van den Begin excels in history play Risjaar Drei."
"Peter Van den Begin shaped the character of Risjaar so well that in the end we the audience couldn’t help liking this incredible two-faced bastard just a little."
"Risjaar Drei recalls the time when theatre revolved around actors."
by
- Olympique Dramatique
freely adapted from
- Richard III van William Shakespeare
- Risjaar Modderfokker den Derde
- Richard III
text, direction
- Tom Dewispelaere
- Stijn Van Opstal
with
- Jan Decleir
- Mieke De Groote
- Nico Sturm
- Koen De Sutter
- Jonas Vermeulen
- Sanne Samina Hanssen
- Peter Van den Begin
- Stijn Van Opstal / Tom Dewispelaere
dramaturgy
- Ellen Stynen
scenography
- Stef Stessel
light design
- Stef Stessel
costume design
- Ilse Vandenbussche
sound design
- Yves de Mey
production
- Toneelhuis
- Toneelhuis
