Shakespeare by the Sea Back at It — If Only Briefly — with Richard III

Maybe you’ve heard, but there’s this clusterfuck called COVID-19, and it’s been an absolute bitch to the theatre world. Although they scrambled to produce a pair of shows last year for online viewing, Shakespeare by the Sea’s raison d’être is to take the Bard out — as in outdoors — to the people, so 2020 was a bust.

But it’s a new year, and however much COVID ain’t done with us yet, San Pedro-based Shakespeare by the Sea is still able to produce a pair of summer plays for limited runs on their home turf of Point Fermin Park, ye olde place of the most panoramiffic ocean view around. And because ShakeSea is nothing if not consistent, for a couple of hours you get the feeling that the world has returned to a kind of normalcy.

Personally, Richard III is not a fave, so there was nothing ShakeSea could do to make me love it (whereas I’m quite looking forward to their August choice: Love’s Labour’s Lost). Relying on a core of ShakeSea veterans (including Patrick Vest as the gleefully villainous eponym, as bad of a guy as the Bard ever wrote), the acting is reliable as always. And aside from the ShakeSea’s traditional piped-in music between scenes, the interpretation and staging are straightforward and bare-bones. It’s not exactly what you’d have seen at the Globe circa 1600, but it’s something very like it (again, aside from the PA system).

The biggest surprise and tickle comes in the comedy. A high point is the end of Act I, when Clarence (Azim Rizk) attempts to persuade a pair of assassins (G. Anthony Joseph and Brendan Kane) not to do the deed by saying Richard will reward them if they don’t — not realizing that it was Richard who sent them. I’ve never seen this played for yuks, and it’s the only time I’ve ever laughed during Richard III. Just goes to show how much can be done with line readings.

Otherwise, you’ll get exactly what you expect from Richard III, from “Now is the winter of our discontent…” right on through “My kingdom for a horse!” No bells, no whistles, no surprises. But in a world so topsy-turvy over these last 18 months, maybe that’s not a bad thing right now.

And have you been to that park?! The view alone is worth the price of admission — which is free. So why not take a trip with a side of Shakespeare?

Shakespeare by the Sea does Richard III at Point Fermin Park (807 W. Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro) only thrice more: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m. Cost is free (donations gratefully accepted). For more details (including on next month’s staging of Love’s Labour’s Lost), visit shakespearebythesea.org or call (310) 217-7596.