Richard III, Shakespeare's Globe ****

After seeing Shakespeare seen through the scope of an Italian composer, it didn't seem that far a step to see him filtered through the Chinese culture and language (in this case mandarin). This production is a pleasure to watch. Xiaoying has created a production that incorporates Chinese culture with Shakespeare's story and without the beauty of the text, you can see the pure talent on display. The murderers are played comically by Cai Jingchao and Zhang Zhiyong as a counterbalance to their acts whilst the murders are carried out with a black sheet being thrown over the victims head rather than in a goldfish bowl or being electrocuted. Wang Jianan extraordinary talent for drums help build up the tension as does the set from Luo Dajun that is showered with blood after each murder. The pure talent of Zhang Hao is astonishing to watch. His Richard rivals Mark Rylance's as a slippery a characterful portrayal that moves like a serpent waiting for it's next catch. Whilst the use of three witches at the beginning made me think that the Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio had brought their production of Macbeth in early, it made for a fantastic afternoon of drama.