Dr Peter Kirwan

Tag: Richard II

  • Richard II (Shakespeare’s Globe) @ The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

    Richard II (Shakespeare’s Globe) @ The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

    What is England? Seeing Richard II the day after yet another missed deadline for the UK’s departure from the EU, in a climate of mass uncertainty about the nature of sovereignty and the future of the country, unavoidably presented difficult questions about what is at stake, both in the play and now. The uneasy laughter from the…

  • The Tragedy of King Richard the Second @ The Almeida Theatre, via NT Live

    The Tragedy of King Richard the Second @ The Almeida Theatre, via NT Live

    For those who remember the Berliner Ensemble’s extraordinary Richard II, which came to the UK in 2006 as part of the RSC’s Complete Works Festival, Joe Hill-Gibbins’s new production of the play for the Almeida may have struck a chord. As with that production, this stripped back Richard II – barely 90 minutes long without interval – offered a concentrated…

  • Richard II (Rutgers Conservatory) @ Shakespeare’s Globe

    Richard II (Rutgers Conservatory) @ Shakespeare’s Globe

    The Rutgers Conservatory at Shakespeare’s Globe is an extraordinary opportunity for its participants. Transferring to London from Rutgers University for two terms of their third year, students on the University’s theatre programme take an intensive training course with scholars and practitioners at the Globe, culminating in two public performances on the Globe stage. Richard II was the…

  • Richard II (National Theatre) (film)

    Richard II (National Theatre) (film)

    We owe Illuminations a huge debt of gratitude. Its ongoing ‘Screen Plays’ series, reviving and making available classic television productions, has already brought us An Age of Kings and The Wars of the Roses, and now it delivers a beautifully transferred recording of Deborah Warner’s seminal Richard II, the 1997 television version of the 1995 National Theatre production. I’ve only seen…

  • An Age of Kings (BBC) (film)

    An Age of Kings (BBC) (film)

    In 1960, the BBC undertook an extraordinary project. Shakespeare’s eight history plays covering the reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III were broadcast in fifteen hour-long episodes with a single ensemble company. Rehearsed quickly and recorded live, the films have been unavailable commercially until now,…

  • Richard II (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

    Richard II (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

    As a statement of intent, Gregory Doran’s launch to his tenure as RSC Artistic Director is perfectly judged. Richard II is the most ‘Doranish’ production one could imagine, from the gorgeously conceived lighting design to the sensitive treatment of male-male relationships, from the meticulous attention to detail in the tiniest roles to the playful but respectful approach to history,…

  • The Hollow Crown: Richard II (film)

    The most exciting element of the BBC’s Shakespeare Unlocked is off to a storming start. Rupert Goold’s film of Richard II, divorced of the gimmickry and attention deficit lack of focus that characterises his stage work (sometimes to wonderful effect, sometimes disastrously) is a slick, subtle, well acted and creative adaptation of a rarely filmed play that manages the tricky…

  • Richard II (Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory) @ The Tobacco Factory

    Even though Richard II stands alone as a wonderful, lyrical play, there’s something about a good production that leaves you wanting more, in the form of Henry IV. Certainly the play seems to aim at that. Some of the most exciting moments in Andrew Hilton’s new production, opening this year’s season at the Tobacco Factory, were those hinting towards the future…

  • Richard II (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre: highlights

    It’s Friday morning, I’m nine hours into the cycle, haven’t been to bed before 1.30am for two nights and so far I’m having a great time! In the spirit of my tiredness, though, I think I’ll take a far more informal approach to the blog than usual… Richard II was a fabulous start to the week,…

  • Richard II (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre

    With the Complete Works Festival now long over, and the Swan preparing to shut down in a couple of weeks, the RSC’s attention now seems focussed on its new Big Project. The Histories Cycle is Michael Boyd’s attempt to stage with a single company the two tetralogies of history plays that Shakespeare wrote. The Cycle opened…