Abstract
Niccolò Machiavelli, the father of modern political science, wrote in his treaty The Prince that in order to retain power efficiently, “it is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both”. Machiavelli's vision probably influenced William Shakespeare in creating Richard III, the most famous disabled character in western drama, in the eponymous tragedy because Richard III reasons through similar lines when he says: “Since I cannot prove a lover… I am determined to prove a villain”. Richard III has inspired American playwright Mike Lew to write Teenage Dick, currently at the Donmar Warehouse (London, UK) under Michael Longhurst's direction. If some elements of the play still mirror the original Richard III, with its setting in a modern American high school, Teenage Dick is an impressive autonomous reflection on disability, power, and the hellish period that adolescence may be.
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