Risjaar (Richard) is repulsive. He was born premature, unfinished. He is deformed, limps and is hideously ugly. During the Wars of the Roses, which suddenly broke out after the death of Henry V, Risjaar fought with all his might for his family, alongside his brother Edwaar (Edward). Edwaar is now the king, as a result of several brutal political assassinations devised by his crippled brother. However, the end of the war does not bring Risjaar the peace he has desired for so long. 

There is no peace of mind for Risjaar. His distaste for humanity, to which he will never really belong, is too deeply rooted. On the contrary, something has been born, something fuelled. An insight. A craving, a callous and ambitious hunger. An opportunity to rise above himself: ‘If you are looking for a bastard I will gladly play the part.’

After AUGUSTUS ergens op de vlakte (August, Osage County), Tom Dewispelaere and Stijn Van Opstal have once again brought together a first-rate cast. 

In his play Richard III, Shakespeare created one of the most memorable monsters in literature. What makes him so attractive is his free and unashamedly cheerful display of amorality. Brazenly inhuman opinions have never sounded so sweet.

Risjaar Drei is a portrait of an elite, a small group of rulers who have reduced politics to a game of chess in backrooms and corridors. The ideal breeding ground for the smartest of them, the most cunning, the most eloquent and the most ruthless to become a perverse dictator. Power as the goal. But what about that power once it is obtained?