‘There’s a truth to it’: RSC casts disabled actor as Richard III

Arthur Hughes says decision for 2022 production will allow lived experience to be shown properly'

He is one of Shakespeare's most reviled characters, distinguished by his deformed, unfinish'd" figure. Now, for the first time, the Royal Shakespeare Company has cast a disabled actor in the title role of Richard III in a new production opening later this year.

For Arthur Hughes, it is a dream come true" although his first reaction to being cast as the 15th-century king of England was disbelief. It's a part I've always wanted to play, it's a very complex role, and it's the biggest thing I've done," said Hughes, 30.