Over the past couple of months, I have enjoyed watching the Royal Shakespeare Company’s two-parter Henry VI: Rebellion and Wars of the Roses.
These less frequently performed plays about the late medieval period in our history, were very thought-provoking in a world where power-struggles, war and acts of violence are sadly still the norm. Perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects of this story for the audience, was seeing the rise of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, soon to become the infamous Richard III.
Richard is one of Shakespeare’s best-known baddies, and is played with great charisma by Arthur Hughes, whose Richard is young, ambitious and ruthless. The actor also happens to be disabled, as was the historical Richard, which brings an ‘in your face’ quality to the insults and prejudice dealt out by those around him. Hughes will be playing the same character in the RSC’s summer Richard III and it will be a performance not to miss.
Everybody loves a fictional baddie – characters we all love to hate! However, sometimes it isn’t easy to tell the hero from the villain… sometimes it’s just a matter of perspective. Your children or grandchildren may be fans of BBC’s Horrible Histories. One of my favourite songs is the Richard III one, where he bemoans Tudor propaganda and says he’s an ideal husband and good with kids – the last line is: ‘I’m a nice guy, really!’
To complicate matters even further, some of the heroes of our favourite stories can do some pretty ambiguous things too; they don’t always make good choices. Jo March (Little Women) nearly lets her sister drown. Pip Pirrip (Great Expectations) is unkind to the kindly Joe Gargery. Frodo (The Lord of the Rings) decides at the last minute that he wants the ring for himself.
The best fictional characters, as in real life, are a mixture of good and bad. Nobody is perfect all the time and everybody has some redeeming features. In fact, having a redemption arc, a way that even the worst villain can change or do something good, is what makes the most interesting kind of story. The Bible says that we are all a mixture of good intentions and actions and bad ones – what it calls ‘sin’. The letter of 1 John says: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
In the story of the Bible, we are the baddies. We deserve our comeuppance, the unhappy ending that we want for the worst of our fictional baddies. The plot twist of the Bible is that the author always intended us to have a redemption arc and He wrote Himself into the story to make sure it happened.
Cassie is Head of English at a secondary school, a writer, and a minister’s wife.
Popes, elections, Eurovision – and disappointment
As I write this, the world seems to have gone conclave crazy! Prompted by the death of Pope Francis, the …