ANN NOBLE AS RICHARD III A Noise Within

 

Ann Noble
Photo by Craig Schwartz

A Noise Within is Pasadena's Classical Theatre Company: a gift .. 

ANW wades into Shakespere with a Mirror of Our Times:  RICHARD III.

It's been twelve years since  director Guillermo Cienfuegos directed Henry V at Marilyn Fox's  Pacific Resident Theatre.  Cinefuegos's Henry V  was lauded for its minimalist approach to the Bard. Now in the considerably more flashy ANW venue, Cinefuegos has pulled out the stops (an organ reference) to recall Hamlet's Advice: "... to hold .the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure."  Elements of Cinefuegos's PRT Henry V work well in ANW's  magnificent space.  

It's been over four hundred years since Richard III was written and now in modern dress we see in ANW's bold experiment: casting an actress, glorious Ann Noble,  in the role of the true villain. Times change. 

Diversity works.

 ANW's Richard is set in England circa 1970s.  Christine Cover Ferro's costumes are a huge success. 

An Opening Montage tutorial  with tableaux and projections provides insights as to how the monarchy sustained itself in times of heavy hands and absolute power. 

RIII predates Shakespeare's era by about a hundred years.

Angela Balogh Calin's industrial set moves fluidly. At rise, a huge plastic curtain is flung up. by the cast! A challenge to the audience? A metaphor for change?  Ken Booth's extraordinary lights make an essentially bare stage come to life. The basic theme of 'someone's in your way?  Off with their head!!" prevails.

Cinefuegos's ability to be, at once..a traffic cop and creatively build strong images is masterful.  Ann Noble as RIII doesn't rely on the traditional bunch back, hobble routine. A subtle malady is referenced. It never hinders Richard's ruthless manipulations of lies and promises redacted. 

Strong performances by Randolph Thompson as Clarence and Erika Soto as Lady Anne underscore the importance of casting.  Every single member of the cast is dedicated.

With some doubling, it's a large cast that comes to rest on Veralyn Jones as Richard's mother, the Duchess of York, who, from her wheelchair, declares: .

"A mother's curse.. Bloody thou art; bloody will be thy end.
Shame serves thy life and doth thy death attend."  

A prophetic couplet to be remembered, even in 2026..

The iambic pentameter of Shakespeare's language is not always easy to absorb. We do get the well known lines. Some of the argument of the play may elude an unsuspecting ear, but.. the action of the piece, the strong performances and Cinefuegos's dedication to movement makes the language almost secondary as we witness Richard's's rise to grasp the crown .  It's not the easiest of Shakespeare's histories, but as England's dark times are reflected in current events, it's an important look at how corruption and malignancy of spirit may rise and destroy  the most innocent of victims.

For purists?  This is the Folger script. It does not include poor Clarennce's more creative demise.

Applause to Ann Noble's valient rendition of one of Shakespeare's most repugnant villains.  Applause.

Cast

CAST
Richard . .     Ann Noble*
Lady Anne .. Erika Soto*
Queen Margaret  Trisha Miller*
Duchess of York  .Veralyn Jones*
Hastings  . . .Samuel Garnett
Rivers/Murderer 1 Alex Neher
Richmond/Murderer 2 Wes Guimarães*
Queen Elizabeth   Lesley Fera*
Duke of Clarence .Randolph Thompson
Stanley    Tony Pasqualini*
Duke of Buckingham  Lynn Robert Berg*
King Edward IV . .Neill Fleming*
Young York . Brendan Burgos
Prince Edward  Micah Lanfer
Ensemble   . Vic Crusaos
Ensemble  Sean Umeda
Ensemble Dominick Jaramillo 

CREW

Author . William Shakespeare
Artistic Directors . Julia Rodriguez-Elliott  &  Geoff Elliott
Director . Guillermo Cienfuegos
Asst. Director . Natalie Martin
Stage Manager   Sami Hansen*
Asst Stage Manager  Hope Matthews*
Scenic Designer   . Angela Balogh Calin†
Costume Designer  Christine Cover Ferro
Asst. Costume Designer  Jocelyn Tamayo
Lighting Designer  Ken Booth
Sound Designer . . Chris Moscatiello†
Sound Apprentice   Athena Saxon
Projections Designer.   Nick Santiago†
Wig Designer & Make-up .Tony Valdès
Dialect Coach   Andrea Odinov
Fight Choreographer   Jonathan Rider
Dramaturg/Shakespeare Consultant Miranda Johnson-Haddad
Properties Designer/Technical Coordinator  Stephen Taylor
Production Manager  Juli Figueroa-Castro
Interim Managing Director/General Manager . Conner Criswell
Casting Director/Artist Relations. .Alison Rodriguez
Master Electrician .Georgia Shupper
Costume Shop Manager  Courtney Park
Costume Shop Assistant .Erin McComb
Light Board Operator  

Gianmarco Cardenas
Deck Crew:
A1   Christopher Bosco 

RICHARD III by 

William Shakespeare

 A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107

Sunday at 2 p.m. / Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Performances Feb. 14 – March 8:
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7: 30 p.m. / Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
TICKETS:
• Tickets start at $41.75 (including fees)
• Student tickets start at $20
• Wednesday, Feb. 11 and Thursday, Feb. 12 (previews): Pay What You Choose starting at $10 (available online beginning the Monday prior to that performance)
• Discounts available for groups of 10 or more

anoisewithin.org
(626) 356-3100