Suddenly Richard III is a celebrity again and everyone has a view about him. It is fair to say that Shakespeare's view was drawn entirely from one source, Thomas More, who was looking at the story from the point of view of a member of the Tudor court; so his perspective was not unbiased and modern historians have different views about the real history.

The theatre space in the Tobacco Factory is square with the audience seated in tiers on all four sides and cylindrical pillars supporting the roof. The actors can enter and exit from all four corners. The effect is one of real intimacy to the extent of self-consciousness; as well as the actors, three quarters of the audience can be seen.

John Mackay, a superb Richard III, made brilliant use of this unique space in the opening scene. Most of us know the speech, at least the first two lines, “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by