Richard III (1699 Play) - Conclusion

Conclusion

With putting the focus on selected aspects it was ensured to bring up an overview of Richard III. The staging of the adapted version from 1730 onwards shows that the playwrights as well as the audiences obviously found Shakespeare too long and exhausting. Shakespeare’s style to hide scenes from the onlookers might have been another reason. The clearly stated copied lines of the original however show the linking of the two versions. Still, Cibber can be seen as the author of the adaptation as he gave the play his very own style. He created a version based on Shakespeare’s words but clearly created an improvement as he focused on the main events of the play and created a more realistic art of performance. The original was apparently not flashy enough but the new version was cut short by censorship. This caused the first years of failing and made it hard on the play. The first act Cibber created was feared to arouse sympathy for King James II. King William, who reigned at the time of performance, may also have feared a generalisation of the play. The contemporary clothes worn on stage were thought to cause a close relationship to reality. The killing of a King on stage might have brought up suspicions about the death of the real King.