Fringe preview: The Travesty of Richard III

The Culture Company will perform "basically a pantomime with Richard III and some wailing old queens in it" at the Guildford Fringe this year. William Gadsby Peet asks after the inspiration behind combing Shakespeare with farce

  • Editing Shakespeare requires a certain level of bravery, what was it like altering the work of our greatest playwright?

My co-writer and fellow cast member, Helen Manners, did most of the work stripping down a very long, complex and hard-to-follow play into a much shorter, complex and hard-to-follow play. Then once we had the bones of the plot I mixed in original text with “fake Shakespeare” and modern language. The result is an improvement, we're sure. OK - it's basically a pantomime with Richard III and some wailing old queens in it.

  • Two actors playing every part, how hard has that been to organise?

I'm not sure "organise" is the right word. In terms of costume changes, it's a frantic scramble for each of us to become the next person - then slip serenely on to the stage. We cut out half the characters and left in the ones we enjoy playing - they're either mad, sad or very bad...

  • Why did you choose Richard III?

Many years ago, I auditioned for RADA - Unwisely, I chose Richard's big "Now is the winter..." speech as one of my pieces; my performance was a cliched copy of Laurence Olivier's portrayal - with all his menace, conviction and talent entirely absent. Afterwards, I was asked by the panel if I was sure I wanted to be an actor. The humiliation lingers in what's left of my soul to this very day. I'm exorcising demons, getting revenge and finding the comedy in the darkness - all in one.

  • What do you think it is about The Bard’s work that manages to speak to audiences 400 years after it was written?

I think it's still regularly produced for audiences because it's very safely out of copyright, so it's cheaper to put on and the risk of being sued is less. People will always claim to love a Shakespeare play because it's embarrassing to admit you understood about a quarter of it and wished you'd forked out the £1 for a cushion at the Globe.

  • Shakespeare character you most relate to and why…

Hmmm, tricky one. I guess a character who's like me: a bit bitter, misunderstood, power-crazed, manipulative, and funny-looking. Oh, hang on; that'd be a certain Richard, Duke of Gloucester...

The Culture Company perform The Travesty of Richard III in the back room of The Star Inn on July 16. For more information and to book tickets, visit: guildfordfringefestival.com

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