The Final Trial of Richard III

by Mary Schaller

On the eve of the 500th anniversary of the battle of Bosworth Field, a court has been convened in the Halls of Eternity. Richard III, the so-called "most infamous king in history," is the defendant. The questions? Is Richard truly deserving of his evil reputation or has he been the victim of a Tudor smear campaign? The prosecutors are History and Rumor, while Richard stands in his own defense with only Charity to counsel him. Venerable Time himself sits in judgment, and the audience becomes the jury. Witnesses such as Thomas Moore and William Shakespeare are called to testify, and several scenes of the Bard's Richard III are enacted by The Royal Shakespeare Company as evidence in the trial. Is Richard guilty of the murders of the Little Princes in the Tower? Did he really kill his own brother, the Duke of Clarence, or Buckingham, Henry VI, Edward of Lancaster or even Anne, his own wife? Is Richard III innocent? Only the jury—the audience—can decide. The play has a double ending (sentence or pardon) as the jury decides which it will be.

64 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1986

About the author

aka Tori Phillips

Mary W. Schaller is a native of Washington, D.C. (and remains staunchly non-partisan for survival!), an army brat and navy wife. She graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in Theatre Arts, and early in her career she worked in the communications department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City, Calif. Nearly 30 years ago, she returned to the Washington area where she has worked at the Folger Shakespeare Library as a docent since 1979. She was a director for the Fairfax (Va.) Children's Theater and has taught drama, especially Shakespeare's plays, for the Fairfax County Department of Recreation; she directed 40 children's theater plays including 21 Shakespearean productions. Three of her plays: All the World's a Stage, The Final Trial of Richard III and Once Upon a Summertime were written and produced for her drama students. Two Horns and a Tale was written for an elementary school in Virginia Beach, Va., and was filmed by the local PBS television station there. Once Upon a Summertime has also been filmed for the Fairfax County community television station. All the World's a Stage has not only been produced in the United States and Canada but it has also been performed in London, England, and in Australia. Schaller is the author of 10 romantic historical novels published under her pen name (Tori Phillips) by Harlequin. She has published two nonfiction books as well on the American Civil War. Schaller lives in Burke, Va., with her husband, Marty, and loves to take cruises to the Caribbean, ice skate and read books—though not simultaneously!