‘Richard III’ Puts Twist on Exploring Soul’s Dark Side

Finally! After spinning intricate stratagems to eliminate his rivals, a gruff maladroit with a withered arm but a boundless appetite for power gets a shot at the long-coveted throne.

We’re talking, of course, about Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” whose bloody machinations take on a particularly cruel and sinister tone in the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company’s all-female production at the Gascon Center Theatre.

Director Maureen Shea’s point isn’t to prove how accurately women can depict traditionally male characters any more than the all-male casts of Shakespeare’s time made realism their primary goal. Rather, she sets out to illuminate the dark corners of the human soul with an impressive cast for whom no nuance of evil and its horrific influence seems out of bounds.

The company’s artistic director, Lisa Wolpe, dons the traditional humpback and snarl in the title role, reveling in the depravity with which the tyrant wreaks vengeance on a world that shunned him because of his twisted body. Whether slaughtering innocents, wooing a grieving widow (Tara Callaghan) over the corpse of the husband he had killed, or persuading a horrified Queen (Veralyn Jones) to make advances to her own daughter in his name, this Richard wears his personal ax prominently on his sleeve. However, the villainy sometimes eclipses Richard’s honey-tongued cunning--it’s a good thing Wolpe can’t grow a mustache, or she’d be twirling it in every scene.

Envisioning Richard as a spider ensnaring his enemies is a conceit carried through from performance to Elina Katsioula’s striking cobweb-themed set. Notable among the large supporting cast are Fran Bennett’s thundering presence as Queen Mother Margaret--the only soul capable of rattling Richard’s cage--and Denise Crosby as the murdered Duke of Clarence who unwisely trusts his brother Richard’s professed love.

Shea pulls out all the stops for the surreal parade of victims in Richard’s nightmare on the eve of battle; overall the deceptive ease with which we follow this intricate tale is a testament to the clarity of her staging.

* “Richard III,” Gascon Center Theatre, 8737 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends April 14. $15. (213) 466-1767. Running time: 3 hours, 20 minutes.