September 3, 2026 | Uncategorized,

Behind Shakespeare’s Greatest Villains

Why do we love a great villain? Why do we root for their downfall and follow them through the story? A great villain is so much more than just a bad guy – they are a complex and often relatable character. And there’s no one better at playing great Shakespearean villains than Broadway legend Patrick Page, aka “The Villain of Broadway.” For his new solo show, All the Devils Are Here, Page has put together a series of monologues from some of Shakespeare’s most famous and iconic characters. Rooted in the famous playwright’s works, this show is a true masterclass about the nature of evil from one of the greatest living actors working on our stages.

Learn more about several of the most infamous Shakespearean characters that Patrick Page portrays in the show:

Richard III

Richard III, perhaps the most famous of Shakespeare’s villains, is a hunchbacked man who, because of his physical nature, was mistreated as a child. This caused him to grow into a bitter and ambitious man. Throughout the play, he aims for the English thrown — plotting to kill anyone who gets in his way. The play opens with Richard addressing the audience, proudly declaring himself a bad guy. In All the Devils are Here, Page delivers many of Richard III’s funny one-liners to the audience, portraying why Richard III is considered a comic-book like villain.

Iago, from Othello

In Othello, Iago is the trusted lieutenant to the Moorish general Othello. For nearly the entire play, Iago is manipulating the other characters in order to bring about their downfall in a tragic manner. Iago is mostly a very quiet character, with his lines delivered in an even-toned manner. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the characters in the play, who are usually very emotional and given to outbursts of anger. Page describes Iago as checking off almost all of the sociopathic characteristics. This means that Iago is able to understand people very well and manipulate them. But at the same time, he lacks the emotions that would keep him from behaving so inhumanely.

Claudius, from Hamlet

The third of Shakespeare’s famous villains portrayed by Page is Claudius from Hamlet. Claudius is perhaps the least well-known of Shakespeare’s miscreants because his actions are so terrible. In a fit of ambition, Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and the king of Denmark’s brother, murders the king while visiting his sister at the Queen’s home. To become king, Claudius then marries the Queen. Claudius is perhaps the most complex of all the Shakespearean villains in that he is constantly praying for forgiveness for his actions while at the same time attempting to hold onto the power and wealth that he has acquired. In his portrayal of the character, Page brings depth to the role not normally seen.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

In All the Devils are Here, Page portrays both members of the powerful and complex duo of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Page brings nuance and subtlety to each scene, paying great attention to the emotional currents. He opens the show with Lady Macbeth’s famous invocation asking for the “dramatic makings” to be taken from her, for her to be relieved of “all the living motions of man” and to have “all the right and up-rightness of man’s nature turned into distorted freaks of Nature.” In his gentle whispering of this very intense and highly charged passage, Page creates a truly shuddering effect in the audience.

All the Devils are Here is not meant to be a study of the various plays which feature these characters. But it is a study of what makes these characters so compelling. Page uses each character’s personal wound from the past to explore and analyze each of these villains. You don’t have to be a Shakespeare fan to enjoy this intimate look at what draws audiences to bad characters.

Tickets for All the Devils are now available for purchase. The show will run OCT 28—NOV 01 at the Emerson Paramount Center.