Shakespeare’s Globe criticised for casting able-bodied actor as Richard III | Theatre

The announcement of a summer production of Richard III at Shakespeare’s Globe in London has created wintry discontent for the casting of an able-bodied actor in the lead role.

In May, Michelle Terry, the Globe’s artistic director, will play the role of Shakespeare’s scheming king who describes himself as “deformed, unfinish’d”. In recent years, the character has been played in several major productions by disabled actors, including Mat Fraser for Northern Broadsides and Hull Truck in 2017, Kate Mulvany for Australia’s Bell Shakespeare in the same year and, in 2022, Arthur…