It’s “off with his head,” and on with the show, as Shakespeare Carolina brings their annual Queen City Shakespeare Festival to Theatre Charlotte. Kicking off with the comical Twelfth Night, they’re now floating into a more poisonous atmospheric setting with Richard III, an earlier play by Shakespeare that points to history (accuracy is debated) and themes of free will. At his brother’s coronation, Richard III — hungry for kingship and power — begins his descent into madness and murder. The villainous, anti-hero gets his taste of tyranny along with a grim defeat by Henry Tudor, proving that sometimes the saying, “What goes around comes around,” really does apply. $10-$15. July 10, 11, 12, 17, 19, 23 and 25, 8 p.m. Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road 704-376-3777. www.carolinatix.org.
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2008.
