4 STARS, October 28 – November 4. "This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England"
Richard II asks us to think deeply about the meaning of leadership. Should we prefer the skilful leader, the adept tactician? Or do we owe our loyalty to the ordained successor, master of the traditional symbols and forms of kingship? Here, Shakespeare begins to explore the themes of eloquence versus action which reach their fullest expression in Hamlet.
Richard II rules over his court in pomp and splendour. When he’s asked to arbitrate a fight between Mowbray and Bolingbroke, he decides to banish them both from England. Bolingbroke’s father dies during this period of exile, and Richard immediately seizes his property. In so doing, he robs Bolingbroke of his rightful inheritance. In response, Bolingbroke secretly returns to England and begins to muster forces to reclaim his lands and seize the throne.
The Richmond Shakespeare Society have cast a woman – the excellent Katie Barton – in the role of Richard II. It’s certainly an unconventional choice; although it’s true that Shakespeare’s reflections on the meaning of monarchy apply to kings and queens alike. Indeed, Elizabeth I famously asserted ‘I am Richard II, know you not that?’ when the Earl of Essex rebelled against her rule in 1601. By casting a woman in the central role, the RSS ask us to think about how the play applies to other monarchs, including our current Queen. Alternatively, Barton may have been chosen simply because she makes a fine Richard, investing the role with a stately dignity and hauteur.
The use of costumes in this production is particularly inventive. At the beginning of the play, Richard’s court enters in extravagantly medieval dress – furs, robes, jewels and swords. But Bolingbroke and a small cluster of his allies are dressed very differently – Bolingbroke in military uniform, his friends in sleek suits. From the outset, then, two distinct factions are represented on stage: a world of courtly display and tradition set against a world of warlike modernity.
Over the course of the play, more and more characters abandon the King and appear on stage in Bolingbroke’s military Khakis, until Richard and his tiny handful of faithful followers – still dressed in robes and silks – look ludicrously old fashioned.
But at the end of the play, we have a sense that Bolingbroke – now Henry IV – is being dragged back into the world of tradition that Richard had ruled over with such grandeur and pageantry. Bolingbroke’s followers begin to wear fur coats over their military dress. Perched anachronistically upon Bolingbroke’s own head, at odds with his battle uniform, is the elaborate, Medieval crown. Like Richard, he is now alienated, weighed down by tradition, with blood on his hands.
The set is described by the director, Simon Bartlett, as a ‘tarnished jewel box’. The stage is fairly minimal, dominated by the arches of ruined windows hung with ragged shards of stained glass. A forest scene is projected on the back wall – by the end of the play, it has become a scene of dripping blood. Again, the stage hammers home the image of an ancient world in ruins, as a new, modern system of rule is born. The space is used very dynamically – actors often enter or leave through the audience, and a raised platform at the back of the stage is used to indicate authority. Near the end of the play, a broken Richard crawls up from a hole in the floor, a subterranean prison.
This is a well thought out, well acted Richard II – look out for the standout comic duo of Debbie Tinsdale and John Crook as gardeners. Go see it for a fascinating meditation on leadership, change, and nationhood.
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