William Shakespeare’s presentation of Richard III portrays the king as a villain, with a great focus on his hunchback and other disabilities as a justification and contributing factor to Richard’s malalignment morally. For centuries, historians have wondered if the late King really was as twisted as legend has rendered him to be, or if the tales were merely the product of centuries of conflation, born out of the winter of a collective discontent. Other kinds of disabilities from Pistol’s mispronunciation of Irish Gaeilic in response to a French question being asked in Henry V, to questions of madness and mental stability from characters like King Lear. With the advent of hospitals like Bedlam Hospital to treat mental disorders in England, as well as the very first occupational health scheme established in 1599, Shakespeare’s lifetime was full of questions, and diverse answers, concerning what a disabilities was, and how to address it as a society and as an individual living with disease or impairment. 

Here today to help us explore the world of regional accents in a dialogue based theater, the twisted spine and subsequent hunchback of King Richard III, as well as the historical opinions, hospitals, and medical treatments available for those living with a wide range of disabilities in the 16th century is our guest, Dr. Susan Anderson.