Izzi is a Master’s student on the Shakespeare Studies MA at King’s and the Globe Theatre, having completed her undergraduate degree in Classics and English at the University of Oxford. As her MA suggests, she loves all things Shakespeare and early modern drama, and she regularly watches and reviews modern productions of Shakespeare plays. Although you wouldn’t know it from how much she loved Much Ado, Izzi’s research focuses on bodily violence on the early modern stage.
Richard II has never been a favourite of mine: I’m not a huge fan of the history plays in general as I can never keep track of all the historical Henrys and Richards constantly overthrowing each other. However, front row tickets to see Jonathan Bailey perform was too good an offer to refuse. Having thoroughly enjoyed his performances as self-involved and unlikeable figures in W1A and Crashing, I hoped that he would offer a compelling interpretation of Shakespeare’s flighty and narcissistic Richard, and he did not disappoint. Director Nicholas Hytner opted for modern dress and a largely modern setting for his production, creating a hyper-masculine boardroom aesthetic for the majority of the play: one scene where the King and his cronies sip whiskey and snort cocaine before Richard rashly decides to invade Ireland perfectly portrayed his suggestibility and performativity in a world of corporate sleazes. The staging of some scenes confused this timeframe a little, though, such as the use of an enormous artillery gun and an incongruous 80s-style kitchen. I personally found the scenes in this flashy corporate world to be much more effective than the clichéd greens and browns of the military scenes: I found myself wondering whether fully committing to the cutthroat corporate narrative might have been more cohesive and a fresher interpretation of the play.
Having never been to the Bridge Theatre before, I was a little nervous when I saw the small thrust stage devoid of scenery. However, it soon became clear I had no reason to worry. Designer Bob Crowley’s set was fantastic: with every change of scene a single element rose up on one of the stage’s many platforms, such as a hospital bed for John of Gaunt’s final moments, a cosy kitchen set-up for the revelation of Aumerle’s treason, and a lectern for the gripping courtroom/deposition scene. This lent coherence to a play that can sometimes come across as dense or muddled in its many changes of location.
Jonathan Bailey’s performance as Richard was show-stopping. He perfectly captured the King’s capriciousness and emotional volatility with an intensity that was exaggerated but never too much. This created a wonderful contrast between him and Royce Pierreson’s measured and stoic Bolingbroke, who had some truly standout moments during the deposition scene. Other notable performances included Michael Simkins’ Duke of York, whose attempt at loyalty to the divine King eventually cedes to world-weary acceptance of his nephew’s usurpation, and Christopher Osikanlu Colquhoun’s Earl of Northumberland, whose self-assured support of Bolinbroke enhanced the corporate backstabbing aesthetic of the play. Vinnie Heaven was also compelling as Aumerle, Richard’s swaggering and smirking accomplice whose character seemed remarkably out of place in the battlefield scenes, much like the King himself. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the boys-club setting, the Queen’s role was significantly reduced, including the cutting of the famous Garden Scene. It was difficult to tell whether Olivia Popica’s Queen was intended to be somewhat substanceless or whether she was simply underperforming, but her scenes felt a little stilted. Badria Timimi’s Bishop of Carlisle also felt underwhelming: one of the most beautifully written speeches in the play was delivered with little to no emotion, which was a real disappointment. A surprisingly impactful scene, though, was the revelation of Aumerle’s planned treason against Bolinbroke: Simkins, Heaven and Amanda Root (Green and the Duchess of York) were powerfully compelling in their portrayal of the fractured family dynamic.
Overall, Hytner’s Richard II is definitely worth a watch: it’s well-performed, clever, and witty, with beautiful stagecraft and lighting design. Jonathan Bailey truly shines as the mercurial King.
By Izzi Strevens.
