RIII
Director's Note
“You have to destroy the previous generation to invent your own.” - Andrew Czezowski (manager of The Roxy and producer of “The Punk Rock Movie”)
The first time I heard The Clash was when I ordered 12 albums in the mail for the price of 3 .Yes - records. And yes - real mail, not email. There was no iTunes, no downloading of single songs to sample. You listened to the radio with your friends and a tape recorder, waiting for the song you loved and praying the DJ didn’t talk over the intro of your favorite song. Buying music was a commitment and when an album dropped you went to Tower Records and stood in line with 100 other real fans and it was an event. Your music took commitment and was very personal. You never forget your first album.
At the time, I was growing up in an ultra-conservative household and a state that held to the holy trinity of Ronald Reagan, John McCain and Barry Goldwater. A state that nowadays lets you discriminate against gays and Latinos: Arizona. I was pissed off at that state back then. Guess what... I am again today.
After selecting 11 albums I had one choice left and no clue what to pick. When I saw the cover of London Calling with Paul Simon smashing his Fender it spoke to me. I hadn’t heard anything about this group but somehow I knew this music was for me. When the album arrived in the mail and the music screamed out of my record player I knew I had found a musical voice I could relate to. My rebellious nature sprung out of that album - the same rebellious streak that so many youths discover when they try to separate themselves from their parents. I was bullied as a kid and could relate to the desire to lash out or to enact revenge on those that treated me badly.
Thankfully, I poured my angst into creative venues.
But like all musical styles, the next generation of synthesized 80’s commercial syrupy music killed the rebels. Video didn’t just kill the radio star; it birthed commercial, cookie- cutter music and buried the social voice of the artist in the USA until it discovered U2.
There really was a winter of discontent...
In 1978-79 the UK was in the midst of an economic nightmare. Labor and government were at each others’ throats, inflation was at 18%, 1.4 million people were unemployed and that number was rising. People were pissed. It’s no wonder punk was birthed in the UK; the early punk scene was lashing out at injustice, poverty and a government that forgot its own people.
Richard III is a punk to me: a man who is fighting change, time and the next generation. A man who is pissed off. An anarchist in the extreme. A man who searches out and destroys everything from a rage that can’t be controlled until, eventually, it consumes him.
Everyone has a punk, a rebel or a rockstar hidden in themselves. So if you ever had a part of yourself that wished you could punch that jerk in your office, get back at that lover that scarred you, or just play sick mad guitar and front your band in some club... this Richard is for you.
“Punk is alive and well in London, with the sounds of The Clash, The Ramones and Sex Pistols blaring from the speakers in the latest production of Richard III, from director Alberto Bonilla at The Secret Theater. — Richard III is sprinkled with dark wit and humor as a balance to the hypnotic train-wreck of devastation caused by Richard. You won’t leave disappointed.”
“Bonilla’s “Richard III” could have very easily gone off the rails, but this production successfully mixes two very distinct periods in English history and makes you believe they were almost meant to be together. Shakespeare has never seemed more timeless.”
“Bonilla took Shakespeare’s tragedy and transported it to Margaret Thatcher’s England of the 1980s. The show was loud and in your face, which makes perfect sense for this story of a borderline psychopath, who murdered his way to the throne. Including a band on a stage within the stage helps add another level of complexity to this bloody tale.
Bonilla also elicits incredible performances from the entire cast. When they handed earplugs out to the audience at the start of the show, we actually thought about leaving. Luckily we stayed and were rewarded with a brilliant production.”
