RICHARD III SENSITIVE - monodrama of Paweł Palcat

on the motives of Richard III William Shakespeare

screenplay, direction and performance: Paweł PalcatSet and costumes: Marta StrekerStage design: Ewelina CiszewskMusic: Maciej ZakrzewskiLight and video direction: Kacper SchefflerPhotography: Łukasz Kucharzewski aka Oko Borsuk premiered on 28 July 2026 during the 30th International Shakespeare Festival in Gdańsk

The monodrama inspired by Shakespeare's Richard III is an intimate, uncompromising journey deep into the hero's psyche, built on rejection, shame and the desire for recognition. It is a story not about a monster, but about a man formed by the looks of others: evaluative, classifying, excluding.

The show interweaves the classic drama of power with a moving reflection on the contemporary. In a world that glorifies the norm — a fit, strong, young body — otherness is pushed to the sidelines, and “able-bodied” turns out to be a construct based on a narrow, privileged pattern. Those who do not fit into it tend to be perceived as less competent, inadequate, voiceless. Their experience is reduced and the difference is stigmatized and isolated.

Monodram raises uncomfortable questions: who decides what “full moon” means? Why does being different arouse fear and the need for control? And is there room for authenticity in the world of the hierarchy of values? In this interpretation, Richard is not only fighting for power — he is fighting for recognition of his existence. It is a spectacle for viewers ready to look deeper — not only at the stage, but also at their own thinking patterns.

Attention! Present in the performance are: nudity, violence, loud music, flashing lights

For Richard III Sensitive, Paweł Palcat was awarded the Book of Prosper by the Polish Shakespeare Society!