David Tennant made a much anticipated return to the Barbican
stage in the title role of Richard II earlier this month. The 2013-4 production
has been revived as one quarter of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s ambitious
tetralogy, King & Country: Shakespeare’s Great Cycle Of Kings, which places
the play at the head of a sequence to be followed by Henry IV Parts I & II
and Henry V.
David appears to be relishing the return and has built upon
his depiction of the ruler, at once selfish and tyrannical, irresponsible,
capricious and yet brittle and insecure, continuing to experiment with delivery
and his interactions with his co-stars. He dominates the stage from his
entrance, so different from the rest of the court with his ornate flowing gowns
and golden flowing locks (a wig this time rather than the hair extensions), the
King’s core notion that he is God’s own representative rendering him, in his
own opinion, invincible and unchallengeable. David’s art is most evident in his
delivery: he plays with Shakespeare’s words, toying with the structure, adding
pauses and beats so he utters the 400-year old verse in a way that feels
natural and familiar and, most of all, understandable to a 21st Century audience. His Richard is,
even under huge duress, sharp and quick-witted, and even funny. He may not be
the most likeable character in the play but he is the most magnetic and the
most intelligent; however as his power declines his humanity grows. Therefore, David
dominates the deposition scene as Richard runs rings around the new court, his
acceptance of defeat edged with just the right amount of pride and mockery. His
tragedy is that by the time he becomes the character that elicits the most
sympathy, his life is over.
Just short of two years have passed since the original
staging closed in late January 2014, and it is inevitable that there have been
some cast changes. Most significantly, perhaps, is that Jasper Britton steps
into the role of Bolingbroke in place of Nigel Lindsay. The change obviously
cements the play to the ensuing productions in the cycle as Britton carries on
the role as Henry IV through to the next two plays. His Bolingbroke is both
physically and emotionally different to his predecessor. Lindsay was bullish
and aggressive, and there was always the sense of him as the bigger boy snatching
the crown from his spoiled brat cousin. Britton is more cerebral and wily: from
the moment that Richard fails to resolve the conflict with Mowbray at
Gloucester’s funeral it’s clear that Bolingbroke has a germ of an idea in his
mind and his banishment is the catalyst that will fracture Richard’s regime and
culminate in his downfall and death.
Julian Glover takes over as John of Gaunt, and his twin
griefs at his son’s banishment and his brother Gloucester’s death are perceptively
handled; his delivery of ‘This England’ is more sadly nostalgic than angry and
frustrated. Matthew Needham plays the role of Harry Percy with a laddish swagger –
again it is a part that continues through to the next play in the cycle, with
some twists in fortune ahead for Percy and his father Northumberland (Sean Chapman).
Sam Marks, who put in a notable performance as Bushy in the 2013 version, steps
into the part of Aumerle. He is the one character who gives Richard anything
like a normal human relationship and Sam’s interactions with David Tennant are
sensitive and believable.
Female roles in Richard II are scant and fairly brief, but
that does not mean that the production lacks performances that shine. Bookended
by brief but solid performances from Jane Lapotaire and Sarah Parks as the Duchesses
of Gloucester and York, Leigh Quinn enters the company as Richard’s Queen.
Mostly sidelined by Richard’s favourite companions, she comes into her own in
her final scene with her King where her tender love and concern for her husband
is certainly moving.
It’s good to see other familiar faces back in their old
roles alongside Sean Chapman and Jane Lapotaire – Oliver Ford Davies and Simon
Thorp among them. For those who saw the play in its original run, the live choral soundtrack
by Paul Englishby feels like an old friend, as does the ethereal stage design
by Stephen Brimson Lewis.
Only one UK performance of Richard II remains now, on Friday
22nd January. However in a few months the company will be transferring
the whole cycle across the Atlantic to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New
York. Those who have managed to snatch themselves tickets should feel very
fortunate at the prospect of seeing what will be remembered as a classic
production of Shakespeare’s most emotional and tragic historical play.
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