Argentine director Nicolás Pérez Costa brings dystopian Richard III to London this July

A dystopian Argentine reimagining of Richard III comes to the Cockpit Theatre this July

Nicolás Pérez Costa's physically driven production, which earned multiple Off Theatre Award nominations in Madrid, runs at the Cockpit from 8 to 11 July. Press night is 8 July.

Richard III has been staged hundreds of times in hundreds of ways. This one is different. Argentine director and actor Nicolás Pérez Costa brings his dystopian reimagining of Shakespeare's most notorious king to London's Cockpit Theatre for four nights only, following a critically acclaimed run at Madrid's Teatro Infanta Isabel where it later transferred to a larger venue and received Off Theatre Award nominations for Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Set Design.

The production is performed in the round, driven by live percussion, and built around physical theatre rather than naturalistic staging. The audience is placed inside a brutal, decaying world where power is contested through bodies, rhythm and violence. It is not a traditional Shakespeare. It is what happens when a director who has spent 25 years developing a physical theatrical language approaches one of the most psychologically complex characters in the canon.

Pérez Costa plays Richard himself alongside directing. Hugo Coello, who received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Off Theatre Awards for the Madrid run, reprises his role as Hastings. The international cast draws from Argentina, Spain, Portugal, the United States and the United Kingdom. Marta Carvalho plays Queen Elizabeth, Tricia Hitchcock plays Buckingham, Juliet Prew plays Queen Margaret and Julia Rose Lisa plays Lady Anne. The full cast includes Mathew Miles, Tom Longmire, Oliver Broad, Nabhan Uddin and Germán Martins.

Pérez Costa is founder and artistic director of IFAM Nicolás Pérez Costa in Madrid and has directed more than 100 productions across Argentina and Spain. His one-man show Juana la Loca, in which he played seven characters, toured internationally and earned him the José Estruch Award from Teatro Principal de Alicante.

Richard III runs at the Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH, from 8 to 11 July 2026.

Press night is 8 July.

Tickets at thecockpit.org.uk.