A TALENTED group of only six actors masterfully brought to life the second longest of Shakespeare's plays, writes Tim Vaughn.

It is a bloody tale of a time in history just before the Tudor dynasty takes the throne and promoted peace across the land.

The play follows Richard's rise and fall as King of England. Not for the faint-hearted, this gutsy production pulled out all of the stops to tell the tale. Actors changed costumes and characters in front of our eyes, axes were wielded for the beheading scenes and the volume of text delivered at pace was astounding.

I quite forgot that I was sitting in the open air of the Alexandra Gardens and was transported completely into the world of the play.

This is the fifth year of festival from the talented team and this production is the best yet.

The live play was enhanced with digital media. Secret scenes were filmed and wireless headphones were used to convey the whispering citizens gossiping about the state of affairs.

Ellis J Wells as Richard and Eve Winters as Queen Elizabeth/Lady Ann (she also played Ratcliff the executioner) were outstanding in their roles.

They were excellently supported by Rajan Sharma, Tim Schultz, Sarah Devon and Bart Lee, who also directs with style as this production is completely engaging from start to finish.

I am still quite amazed at how so much seemed to happen in so short a time. More theatre should be like this. Get out the cheque book Arts Council England the potential here is substantial.

The play was performed from Tuesday, July 30, to Sunday, August 4.

For upcoming shows at the theatre, see www.windsorglobe.co.uk