Performance history expert Rebecca Brown guides us through the
stage history of Richard III from the time Shakespeare wrote it
to the present day: Shakespeare's own company The earliest
record of a performance of Richard III is in the court papers of
1633, noting that the play was performed before King Charles on
16 November. Although no earlier record survives we know - from
contemporary anecdotes, allusions and parodies - that the play
was a big success. Its printing history also demonstrates its
popularity: it went through six quarto editions before its
inclusion in the 1623 Folio edition of Shakespeare's complete
works, as well as two more after it. The play's first
performances were presented in daylight on the simple thrust
stage of an Elizabethan playhouse. The lack of scenery was a
help rather than a hindrance in allowing fast-paced, fluid
action and a focus on the players and their speech. Music,
costume (royal and plebeian), appropriate weaponry and a few
essential props were all that was required.