'Now is the winter of our discontent'.
With these ever-prescient words begins Richard III, Shakespeare's famous tragic history play, a new production of which is set to be staged at Leicester Cathedral, the home of the monarch's remains.
The production promises to be a 'sensitive' portrayal of a text which presents Richard III as a disfigured, sadistic liar and manipulator, according to The Guardian.
Locating the production at the site of the monarch's remains – which were recently discovered under a council car park – and a house of worship, is a controversial one designed to provoke conversation.
'We will need to be sensitive, but I think it is a good opportunity to open up a discussion,' said Ben Horslen, director of the theatre company Antic Disposition, who are helming the new show.
'We do need to be careful. It is possible there are people who are not going to like it, there are people who don't always like anything done in cathedrals other than worshipping.
'I think it is interesting to use these spaces in different ways and to encourage people to engage with different kinds of art in them.'
Richard III was the last English king of the Plantagenet family, and was killed at the Battle of Bosworth. Shakespeare's dramatization of his life – in which Richard is undoubtedly the villain – is one of his most famous works.
Richard's remains were discovered beneath a Leicester City council car park in 2012, then reinterred at Leicester Cathedral in 2015.
'We now have an interesting chance to look at the historical Richard alongside the theatrical one,' Horslen said, emphasising that he didn't wish to be disrespectful.
'The best way to be sensitive about it is to be very clear that this is Shakespeare's version. It is a theatrical rendition of a character, not a historical one.'
The production will undergo a cathedral tour in July, performing at cathedrals in Ely, Peterborough, Gloucester, Bristol and Salisbury. It will be staged at Temple Church in London in late August.
Horslen said the choice to stage Richard III had been influenced by recent political events. 'It is about a man who lies and deflects and deceives his way into a position of massive power.
'We don't have to look too far to see what is going on with that,' he said.
