Theatre Works in St Kilda is currently home to an ambitious production, The Breath of Kings. It is a two-part history cycle of the plays Henry VI and Richard III. Directed by Robert Johnson, the production brings Shakespeare’s history plays to life with extraordinary immediacy, energy, and invention.
Over an entire day of theatre, audiences are invited to witness the bloody history of England’s royal houses, from the Wars of the Roses to the rise of Richard III. The experience is immersive from the start. Staged in the round, the audience sits within arm’s reach of the performers, blurring the line between spectator and participant. The interaction is constant and sometimes joyful. At one point, I was dancing on stage and sharing treats passed around by the cast. It was alive, communal, and very much in the spirit of Elizabethan performance.
The first play, Henry VI, is a thrilling, blood-soaked account of ambition and collapse. The charismatic Duke of York, played by Tobias Manderson Galvin, ignites the crowd into chants of “York, York, York!” His performance is full of swagger and charm. Ellen Marning as Queen Margaret is a force of nature, embodying raw power and ferocity, while Sean Yuen Halley brings a touching vulnerability to King Henry VI, revealing the man beneath the crown. The production moves with such intensity and rhythm that its two and a half hours fly by.
After a short dinner break, the audience returns for Richard III, an equally kinetic and captivating experience. Alexander Tomisich’s Richard is impish, calculating, and darkly magnetic, a scheming antihero who could easily walk into an episode of Succession. His sideways charm and growing menace are compelling to watch. The ensemble around him works in seamless harmony, each actor shifting roles and tones with remarkable ease.
The production feels like a cross between Succession and a session of Parliament. It was sharp, fast-moving, and dripping with modern corporate ambition. Characters jostle for dominance and betray each other with a familiar blend of charisma, cruelty and political posturing. It is Shakespeare’s power politics reimagined through the lens of contemporary boardrooms and wealthy family dynasties.
The visual world of The Breath of Kings is simple. There is no elaborate set, only a raw, concrete-like space that places all focus on the performances. The costumes, designed by Zachary Dixon (Richard III) and Tait Adams, are a clever mix of Gothic and 1980s-inspired corporate fashion, blending the medieval with the modern to explore timeless forms of power and corruption. The effect is both stylish and symbolic, a mix of crown meet boardrooms.
This is a production that rewards commitment. Spending a day at Theatre Works for both plays is an epic journey through history, politics, and human ambition. It is fast-moving, immersive, and full of action. You may never again have the chance to see Henry VI and Richard III performed back-to-back in such an inventive way, and it is absolutely worth the time.
If you can, see both. The Breath of Kings is a triumph of energy, imagination, and ensemble storytelling.
To book tickets to The Breath of Kings, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/breath-of-kings.
