Off to see Richard III at Hampstead Theatre tonight. It's the last of the Shakespeare plays I studied while at School/Uni that I've yet to see performed so I'm particularly excited.

I'm also curious to see how Ed Hall's all male cast works - although Richard III isn't renowned for its female characters. I've only seen a cross-dressing Shakespeare production once before - more than 20 years ago - when a man played Gertrude in Hamlet and it is a performance that lives indelibly on my memory for very good reasons rather than bad. So I know it can work incredibly well.

Despite having studied the play I'll still be doing a bit of swotting up as it's been a long time. And this trailer is a delicious teaser full of tension and drama and without plot spoilers, unlike the Arcola's Seagull trailer I wrote about last week.

And just in case you are wondering, yes I am seeing the Kevin Spacey Richard III at the Old Vic but not until August. I know some people are seeing both productions back to back which has its merits but I'm glad of the time lapse to give both a chance.