La Tempesta

One of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies comes to life through the powerful interpretation of Maria Paiato, who fittingly and forcefully embodies the role of Richard III.

On the stage of the Roman Theatre on July 17 and 18, Richard III is performed, presenting a faithful adaptation of King Richard the usurper, the wicked genius, the kind of cruel, Machiavellian politician often targeted by Elizabethan theater. A figure that stands against the backdrop of the War of the Roses, in England torn apart by intrigues and fragile alliances, where power is gained with blood.

It is the last of the four works in Shakespeare's minor tetralogy and concludes the dramatic tale of English history that began with Henry IV, Part I. The Bard wrote it around 1592, dramatizing historical events that occurred about a century earlier when, at the end of the War of the Roses, the power of the Plantagenets in England was replaced by the Tudor dynasty. These events, culminating in the defeat of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, were well known to all English people of Shakespeare's time, and the audience identified with the political factions represented on stage.

What makes Richard so fascinating, despite his atrocities?
Which shadows of our time still resonate in his words?
And if the true horror were the clarity with which evil is executed?