Shakespeare’s history play *Richard III*, first performed around 1593, was one of the playwright’s most successful works even during his lifetime. To this day, the title character has lost none of his allure. His power to captivate lies precisely in his uninhibited, single-minded, and gleefully flaunted amorality. Richard is the first in a line of Shakespearean villains whose virtuoso powers of manipulation fascinate audiences. In the tradition of European theater history, Richard’s physical "deformity" became a symbol of moral depravity. This equation of disability with malevolence has become deeply ingrained in cultural memory and continues to shape perceptions of bodies that deviate from the norm.

Julia Wissert’s production radically challenges this characterization. Working with writer Antigone Akgün, she rewrites Shakespeare’s text to portray Richard as a figure whose seizure of power stems from experiences of exclusion, mockery, and structural ableism. Rather than appearing as a "demonic tyrant," Richard emerges as someone who seizes—by any means necessary—the participation denied to him: uncompromising, dazzling, and relentless.

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