RELEASED: April 25, 2002

DANVILLE, KY-Centre College drama students will offer four performances of William Shakespeare's "Richard III." Under the direction of Anthony Haigh, the shows run from May 1-4 (at 8 p.m.) in Weisiger Theatre at Centre's Norton Center for the Arts.

The 30-member cast includes: Laura Beth Adams (Queen Elizabeth), Brendan Adkins (Lord Hastings), David Clark (Sir William Catesby), Beth Fischer (Lady Anne), David Flora (Duke of Buckingham), Ian Frank (Richard, Duke of Gloucester), Sara Gilliam-Kincaid (Duchess of York) and Rebecca Grossman (Queen Margaret).

Shakespeare's "Richard III" tells the story of Richard of Gloucester, a young duke, who uses his wit, courage and guile to seduce women and charm men in his lust for the throne of England during the time of "The War of the Roses," a civil war between the royal family of York and the royal family of Lancaster during the late fifteenth century.

For centuries audiences have been fascinated with the villainous Richard. Haigh notes that Richard "brings the audience into his mind in such a way that we become almost sympathetic to his objectives, if not his means."

While this play belongs to the genre of history plays, it's also a tragedy. Haigh says, "Richard is a man without conscience, and at the end he can find, to his horror, no redeeming features in his own character. That he has the ability to have such a profound epiphany is the ultimate tragedy of the play and what makes Richard such a compelling figure."

Haigh is professor of dramatic arts at Centre College and is the Kentucky Theatre Association's Representative to the Southeastern Theatre Conference. A native of England, he has directed for the Lexington Shakespeare Festival and has conducted Shakespeare workshops for Actors Theatre of Louisville. He developed a one-person play on the life of Samuel Drake, an Englishman who established the nation's first permanent professional theatre west of the Alleghenies.

Tickets may be purchased through the box office at Centre College's Norton Center for the Arts. Call (859) 236-4692.

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