Corona Cold Reads: Richard III

These are crazy times and we’ve all taken on a bunch of new projects as we socially isolate in order to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

We’re donating where we can, we’re cleaning the pantry, we’re organizing the 2300+ title dvd library. We finished work on the Nominee Interview Series even though the live event for our yearly Critics’ Pick Awards had to be cancelled (we’ve still got trophies to give out, eventually). We started the Corona Movie Club to help curb our boredom and constant need to talk about movies with other human beings. I’m even watching network procedurals and actually writing about them.

But what we all really need is comfort. We need our favourite things and our favourite people and right now those are hard to come by so we have to do everything we can to bring them together whenever possible. For me, there’s nothing quite so comforting and joyful as Shakespeare. Luckily, I know a lot of people who also love Shakespeare- a few old friends from my alma mater’s Shakespeare Society and a few of my favourite Toronto theatre artists, all of whom just so happen to be talented and generous and responsibly socially isolated enough to want to join a nearly 3-hour 19-person Zoom call for the purposes of livestreaming Shakespeare on YouTube.

Check out Richard III in audio form below (or on iTunes) then tune into our YouTube page on Saturday and Tuesday nights at 7pm EST to catch our live readings.

A huge thank you to the cast of R3:

Richard III (“Gloucester”)- Mo Kamaly
King Edward IV- Nicanor Campos
Troubadour/Queen Elizabeth- Gaby Grice
Troubadour/Rivers/Sheriff- James King
Clarence- Hilary Wartinger
Brakenbury/Richmond- Anne van Leeuwen
Hastings- Shalyn McFaul
Lady Anne- Laura Hubbard
Gentleman/ Third Citizen/Messenger/Lovel- Nicole Falgoust
Boy/York/Another/Third Messenger- Rini Smith
Grey/Second Messenger/ Norfolk- Sam Chappell
Buckingham- Amy Keating
Cardinal/ Scrivener/Tyrrel/Surrey- Scott Garland
Queen Margaret- Susan Bond
Dorset/Vaughan/Blunt- Elizabeth Morriss
Girl/ Prince Edward/Page/Fourth Messenger- Miriam B
Catesby- Elizabeth Ramirez
First Murderer/ Oxford/Second Citizen/Lords- Andrew Hawley
Second Murderer/First Citizen/Christopher- Mark Kreder
Duchess of York/ Ratcliffe/Ghost of Prince Edward- Melissa Wright
Archbishop of York/Priest/Bishop of Ely- Jim Hill
Lord Mayor/Pursuivant/Herbert- Weldon Goree
Stanley, Earl of Derby/Ghost of Henry VI- Christopher Prentice