RICHARD III is still a figure of controversy; witness the spat over where he should have been re-buried, but do you have to cast all that to one side when playing Shakespeare's "Crookback", Reece?

"Yes, I have to do the Tudor propaganda version of Richard III, so my Richard can't be a benign figure. He has to kill the children in the tower and be all things Shakespeare says he is.

"But what is clever is that Shakespeare gives you this charming, charismatic figure at the start, which gets the audience on his side with his humour, but eventually the joke is no longer funny and he becomes despicable. Gradually, the audience realise they have been compliant in what he's done.

"He's this evil Machiavellian character, but he's charming and funny too. I can't allow myself to worry about how others have played him; I must interpret it how I see it.

"I believe I saw the play when I was 13/14 at the old Leeds Playhouse, but I've not seen it since and I'm rather glad because I don't want to be influenced by anyone else."

Richard III runs at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, until October 17. Box office: 0113 213 7700 or wyp.org.uk