OR THE WIENER OF OUR DISCONTENT
OR THE WIENER OF OUR DISCONTENT
The Dachshund Shakespeare Players take on the history plays this
time. Oh well, there are plenty of references to dogs in this play..
Richard laments the peace that exists in England now that the wars seem to be over. His brother has married and Richard himself seems to be left out, which he attributes to his deformity. But he vows things will not be peaceful for long...
Richmond's older brother, George, Duke of Clarence, is caught in the web of Richard's intrigue. Richard has warned King Edward of an enemy with a "G" in his name. (Richard's own name is Richard, Duke of Gloucester.)
Richard now courts (and wins!) Lady Anne over the corpse of her father-in-law, the late king Henry VI. Richard killed him. He also killed Lady Anne's husband, Prince Edward.
Queen Elizabeth is worried about her husband's failing health as her sons are young and she and Richard are decidedly not friends.
Queen Margaret, Widow of Henry VI (the corpse) curses Queen Elizabeth and Richard (and just about everybody else in the play!
She warns the Duke of Buckingham to beware of Richard.
The murderers Richard sent to kill his brother George almost cannot do the deed but end up drowning him in a butt of malmsey — a big barrel of wine. (Legend has it that's the way he requested to have it done, realizing it was inevitable.)
King Edward, realizing his days may be numbered, tries to ensure peace in the land. He is horrified to learn that the pardon he sent for Clarence has arrived too late.
The Duchess of York grieves for the death of her son George. Queen Elizabeth tells us that she has more cause for grief: the King is dead.
While nobles go the fetch the young princes, the citizens talk. They don't trust the Queen's ambitious family but they don't trust Richard either.
Richard and his ally Buckingham waste no time. The Queen soon learns that her brothers, Lord Rivers and Lord Gray, have been arrested.
The young Prince Edward arrives in London, only to find his mother, grandmother and brother are not there to greet him. They have taken sanctuary.
The brother, York, is brought to meet the Prince. The boy taunts Richard for his deformity. (Now where did he learn that?) Richard has them sent to the Tower for safety, as it was a fortified palace as well as a notorious prison.
Richard and Buckingham discuss the possibility of swaying Lord Hastings to their way of thinking. They decide he'd be loyal to the boys so Richard's solution is simple: chop his head off.
Stanley and Catesby (two of Richard's henchmen) test Hastings' loyalty
The queen's brother and a friend (Vaughan) are led to execution. They remember Queen Margaret's curse on them — and on Buckingham and Richard
At a meeting of Council, ostensibly to plan the coronation, Richard pounces. Hastings condemns himself with one misplaced word ('if') and is taken to execution.
Richard and Buckingham gloat over Hastings' head, then move on to the next phase of their plan: to cast doubt on the legitimate parentage (and so the legitimate claim to the throne) on the two princes.
Buckingham reports that he's talked to some of the citizens and they are underwhelmed with the prospect of Richard's becoming king.
Richard, using churchmen as props, stages a scene in which he allows Buckingham to force the kingship on him. He's so unwilling...
Grandmother, mother and aunt (Richard's wife Anne) go to visit the children in the tower. They are denied entrance, and learn the unwelcome news that Richard has been made king. Anne feels her days are numbered.
Richard, now king, worries about the existence of the boys and their claim to the throne. Buckingham isn't enthusiastic with Richard's plan to "disappear" them.
Richard cuts Buckingham out of his immediate circle and interviews the murderer Tyrrel. Buckingham begins to get worried.
Tyrell reports the details of the murder of the princes and Richard tells us that he's had Anne killed.
Queen Margaret gloats over the grief of Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of York.
The grieving women confront Richard. His mother curses him.
Richard does another outrageous thing: he demands the hand of Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth's only remaining child (and his niece)He explains that he does this to redress wrongs he's done to the family.
There's bad news: Duke Henry of Richmond, an ally of the old king Henry VI, is approaching with a battle fleet and intends to join Buckingham. This rattles Richard.
There's good news: Buckingham's army runs into floods and is dispersed. Buckingham is taken and executed, as always, remembering Queen Margaret's warnings and curses.
Many join with Richmond and his army makes ready to do battle on Bosworth field.
Even Lord Stanley, whose son is held hostage by Richard, pledges his help covertly. Richmond prays to God for aid.
On the night before the battle, Richard is visited by the ghosts of his victims — all eleven of them.
Richmond delivers a rousing speech to his troops.
Richard loses first his horse, then the battle, then his life.
Richmond has won (and Stanley's son is still alive!) Richmond vows to unite the white rose and the red, the badges of the warring parties, and bring peace to the land.
The End
That's it — a story of dynastic violence, dastardly villains and demonstrable proof that public imagination is fired more by literature than the mere facts of history. For more information on the facts about Richard III contact these websites:
RICHARD III SOCIETY PAGE
RICHARD III FOUNDATION PAGE
WAR OF THE ROSES PAGE.
I do these cartoon versions of Shakespearean plays prior to taking my own students to see live theatre. The cartoons give them an idea of the plot of the play so they don't feel lost. After 10 minutes or so, the students catch on, enjoy the play, and my job of supervision becomes much easier.
Sorry I can't put the "mainstream" plays (Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar et al) on the Web. They are copyright to J. Weston Walch, Publisher and are available in SHAKESPEARE MADE EASY: AN ILLUSTRATED APPROACH.
Some other sites you might like to visit:
Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet
The Dachshund Circus
Dachshund Delights Badger Burrow
Bard on the Beach
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival
This site was prepared with help from Bill Kempthorne, Colin Welch, and Dale Halcrow, the Principal, who tolerates my obsessions. All I do is the dachshund and Shakespeare parts. I hope it helps you and your students or children to enjoy the Bard as much as I do.