Richard III Casebook (Justin): Head Gear

Prior to Richard’s dream in Act V, Scene 3 in which he is visited by the ghosts of his various victims, Richard prepares himself for the approaching battle of the next day, ensuring that his armor and weaponry have been laid out for the impending conflict. The protective gear and arms referred to by Richard are a rather curious missed opportunity on the part of IU’s production. The biker motif chosen for this Richard III yields few concrete opportunities for pairing Shakespeare’s text with contemporary items deemed ‘bikeresque,’ yet Richard’s pre-dream statements concerning his personal protective gear clearly present such a moment.
   


Image 1 - Knight's Helmet

At lines 53-54 (Folger edition), Richard asks, “What, is my beaver easier than it was, / and all my armor laid into my tent?” The term ‘beaver’ in this instance refers to the visor on a helmet (see image 1). Richard is soon assured that his head protection and “all things” [his other pieces of armor] “are in readiness” (line 55). At this moment, why not make use of the modern protective equivalent for a biker – a motorcycle helmet? Add some metal adornments, such as a spike or two, and suddenly it will become a ‘war motorcycle helmet’ (see image 2).

Image 2 - Motorcycle Helmet (sans spikes)

This simple prop achieves several duties at once: (1) it makes the term ‘beaver’ somewhat intelligible to a modern audience [making the audience ‘feel smart’ is always a bonus – they tend to judge productions more favorably when their egos are stroked]; (2) the conceptual selection for a ‘biker’ world becomes more relevant as choices that serve the story are implemented – beyond providing a reasonable way of ‘labeling’ the characters with their names and affiliations, the biker concept now helps to tell the story of the approaching battle and Richard’s involvement in it; (3) the protective gear serves as a sign for what Richard is prepared for [hand-to-hand combat], but also highlights what he is incapable of protecting himself from [the ghostly visitors he encounters in his dream].  One simple prop has made Shakespeare’s text more comprehensible to a modern audience, further grounded the production in its chosen world, and helped advance the story.