Little Lark of London

“Be ruled by me”

Richard II marks the return of Nicholas Hytner directing Shakespeare at the Bridge Theatre, this time with Jonathan Bailey taking on the role of the titular king in the tragic history play. This particular production brings Shakespeare’s work into the modern world, with an atmosphere that I would describe as a mix between Succession and The Crown (especially with the string-heavy music composed by Grant Olding. For those unfamiliar with Richard II, the work is one of Shakespeare’s history plays (though it is also a tragedy), part of the tetralogy that includes Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V. The audience sees the fall of Richard II at the hands of his cousin, Henry Bullingbrook (Royce Pierreson) as the country turns against him.

In case one might wonder why anyone would rebel against Richard, it is made quite clear within the first few scenes that he is an incompetent king, one who has surrounded himself with supporters who will agree with anything he says. This is the kind of king who will snort cocaine and make rash decisions, like going to fight in Ireland the minute a member of the old guard, John of Gaunt (played wonderfully by understudy Martin Carroll) passes away. And that’s not an exaggeration – Richard makes this decision in the hospital over the man’s body. This is when Richard’s cousin, Bullingbrook, decides to take a stand, raising an army against the king. 

Pierreson is a brilliant Bullingbrook and I hope that Hytner continues with the tetralogy, giving us the opportunity to see the actor as King Henry IV. The dynamic between him and Bailey is one of tension, even if it seems the two may have been close in their youth. The two actors balance each other’s performances, showing the two paths that a king may go down – one of frivolity and childness and one of war and respect. Bullingbrook is willing to fight for his life in order to save his country, while Richard is instead obsessed with the crown and the concept of ruling. 

One of the most frustrating aspects of this production of Richard II is how it fails to establish its reason for being. It’s certainly interesting to put the characters in a modern world at war and Bob Crowley has done a good job with the design, but nothing is done to help justify why choices are made. Why is Gloucestershire covered in rubbish? Why are they having a knife fight in a pit? Did this production need to be put in the round with platforms moving up and down? All of this is made even more frustrating by the fact that the set changes are not clean. The crew moving the set pieces around can be heard throughout the show, even in its quietest moments, which ruins the atmosphere – it doesn’t help that the tops of their heads can be seen poking out from the stage while they rush to get the next set ready to rise on one of the platforms. 

Another disappointing part of the show is how it struggles to get the audience immersed in the world of Richard as he fights to keep his crown. During one of my favourite Shakespeare speeches, which begins, “For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground / And tell sad stories of the death of kings,” Bailey is greeted by laughter from the audience, who appear to see this as another one of Richard’s tales he tells his followers for amusement. Bailey does a great job of portraying the king, but, like the character himself, he is trapped by the direction of those around him

An unexpected highlight of the show is the drama between the Duke of York (Michael Simkins), his wife (Amanda Root) and their son, the Duke of Aumerle (Vinnie Heaven). Simkins is a fantastic Duke of York, torn between supporting his king and his country while also trying to raise his son properly. While Root doesn’t have much to do until the second act when the York drama comes into the spotlight (most of the women are greatly underused – I would not have been opposed to more gender-bending in the roles like Badria Timim taking on the Bishop of Carlisle), she does a brilliant job with what she has, pleading for her son’s life despite knowing the wrong he has committed. And Heaven is incredible as the Duke of Aumerle, going from a childlike friend of Richard to plotting his demise over the course of the show. 

Ultimately, Richard II has a fantastic cast but struggles to really do something with them, making for a decent show if you do not look too deeply into its meaning. Bailey, Pierreson and the rest of the performers are truly giving it their all but cannot fill the empty void that the Bridge Theatre has become. 

Richard II runs from 10 February to 10 May at the Bridge Theatre. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.