Get Out More......................................Theatre Review

RICHARD II (The Courtyard Theatre, RST, Stratford-upon-Avon)

31-12-2007

Paula Elenor has been privileged to witness all eight of the Shakespeare History Plays currently being performed in Stratford by the RSC. Here’s her verdict of the final performance in the cycle, Richard II.

The History Play company of actors established under the leadership of RSC’s Artistic director, Michael Boyd, is “cooking on gas” at the moment.

Two years after its inception, the company is at the top of its form, brilliantly realising Boyd’s vision of the Histories as a unified cycle of plays, as well as a representation of Shakespeare’s artistic and intellectual journey over 7/8 years.

Currently all eight of Shakespeare’s Histories are in repertoire at The Courtyard Theatre. This is an amazing collaborative achievement and I feel privileged to have been in the audience for each one.

I have no doubt that the last quartet of plays to be performed – Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 &2 and Henry V - will pick up their share of awards as did the first group.

As I have said in earlier reviews, the potency of these productions lies in the fact that they are performed by an ensemble. It is not really in their spirit to single out any one actor. However, with the greatest respect to the talents of the rest of the actors in the company, I must mention the achievements of Jonathan Slinger.

As Richard II, his vocal range and intelligence as an actor really opened up the play for me. He was equally stunning in roles as diverse as the comic Fluellen in Henry V and as the eponymous Richard III.

Richard II depicts the historical events that triggered the turbulent and bloody times dramatised in the Histories – from 1399 to 1485. The fickle, petulant and intemperate, yet indisputably legitimate Richard II, is ousted from power by his politically shrewd and ruthless cousin, Bolingbroke, henceforth known as Henry IV.

So begins a period of political in-fighting, power struggles, and bloody civil war, which only came to an end on the battlefield of Bosworth with the victory of Henry VIIth - Elizabeth I’s grandfather.

The quandary explored in Richard II can be encapsulated in this question. Can it ever be right to usurp a divinely ordained monarch, even when he is unpopular, a weak personality and something of a liability? Having deposed the ineffectual monarch, what can the more political-savvy usurper do with him?

The deposed king is, of course, by his very existence, a constant threat to the position of the new monarch – a figurehead for any rebellion. But if the new King kills the old (legitimate) one, he is guilty of the most heinous sin: regicide and the murder of a kinsman.

Well, Henry IV does kill Richard. Edward IV also murders the erstwhile Henry IV. The regicide (and his descendents) will be cursed and punished, until the sin is expiated.

Hence a constant cycle of powerplay, resentment and revenge is played out throughout the generations. This is the essential premise that runs through all eight of Shakespeare’s History plays.

One cannot help but be struck by the sobering similarities between the stories depicted in Histories and the aftermath of the Bhutto assassination. When power is wielded through dynasties, we are caught up in the very essence of personality politics.

The personal and public lives and tragedies of key families are inextricably intertwined: the fate of nations is caught up in and determined by the fate of families and individuals. The trouble is, we really are in it for the long-haul.

As I left the theatre on Friday, I experienced a real mixture of feelings: a sense of camaraderie with the actors (I had shared their collective experience of exploring and interpreting the plays in this unique way); a feeling of satisfaction as the productions had really opened up my understanding and sense of what Shakespeare was about as a dramatist, and, finally, a sense of sadness – it was over! I had seen all eight plays performed by the same company and now there were no more.

However, you still have a chance to see at least one of these excellent productions as they remain at Stratford until the middle of March, before they transfer to The Roundhouse in London.

Full booking details for the History Plays are at www.rsc.org.uk