Play On Podcasts: Richard III, Episode 1 - Born With Teeth

Introduction to Richard III

• 🎭 The PlayOn Podcast series presents "The Tragedy of Richard III," a reimagining of William Shakespeare's classic play.
• 📌 This play, believed to be one of Shakespeare's earliest, is the final part of a four-play series chronicling the turbulent War of the Roses and the rise of the Tudor dynasty.
• 💡 "Richard III" was a significant hit in Shakespeare's time, being one of his longest plays and featuring more named characters and lines for Richard than any other.

Modern Adaptation and Setting

• 🌃 The adaptation sets the play in the San Francisco Bay Area during the height of the 1980s punk rock movement.
• 🎧 The audio atmosphere is designed to evoke the anything-can-happen environment of that era, aiming to immerse listeners in the uncertainty and chaos felt by Elizabethans witnessing the notorious villain's story.

Richard's Deformity and Villainy

• 💔 Richard laments his physical deformity, feeling cheated by nature and ostracized by society, which fuels his determination to become a villain.
• 🐍 He plots to sow discord between his brothers, Clarence and King Edward, using prophecies and deceit.
• ⛓️ Richard manipulates the situation to have his brother Clarence imprisoned, citing a prophecy that George (Clarence) will be the murderer of Edward's heirs.

Lady Anne and Richard's Manipulation

• 💀 Richard encounters Lady Anne, mourning her father-in-law, King Henry, and her husband, Prince Edward (whom Richard killed).
• 🗣️ He skillfully manipulates her grief and hatred, using his words to convince her that he was driven by her beauty and that he can offer her a better husband.
• 💍 Despite her initial curses and revulsion, Richard persuades Lady Anne to marry him, even making her a participant in his