3/10/2024 0 Comments Jon finch richard ii![]() Richard II begins at the final years of the eponymous King’s rule, with the quarrel between Henry Bolingbroke accusing Thomas Mowbray of treason. This production features gorgeous cinematography and an all-star cast, with the legendary Sir Patrick Stewart giving a stellar rendition of the legendary “sceptered isle” monologue. English theatre director Rupert Goold was offered to direct one of the plays and chose Richard II. The Hollow Crown was filmed and released in 2012 in a cultural celebration coinciding with London hosting the Olympics. Luckily The Hollow Crown’s production of the play is able to add a definitive take on the play that can be seen by all. That film is an excellent time-capsule of ‘70s television but is not widely available outside of Britain. One of the few prominent productions was the film for The BBC Shakespeare Series starring Derek Jacobi and Jon Finch. Tragically despite the brilliance of the play, this is one of the most underperformed and seldom filmed plays of Shakespeare. Elizabeth I later commanded a performance of the play for her where she responded privately, “Know ye not that I am Richard II?” managed to survive even if they were peripherally involved in the conspiracy. It is genuinely astonishing that Shakespeare and Co. The conspiracy failed and Shakespeare’s troupe was questioned. Notably wealthy conspirators lead by the Earl of Essex commissioned the Globe to perform the play as a rallying cry before they deposed Queen Elizabeth I. ![]() Although speaking about events nearly two centuries prior, their relevance was recognized not only by audiences but ambitious lords. In Shakespeare’s lifetime the play was explosive for the themes and content. ![]() It is a play that explores the duty and responsibilities of a King and the complexities inherent in removing a tyrant. The play more than any other is utterly ambivalent about the protagonist and antagonist. The language is beautiful, and yet the elegance of the language is nothing compared to the political and character complexity in the play. It is one of the only plays by Shakespeare written entirely in verse. Richard II is an intriguing play in Shakespeare bibliography. That is an interesting and challenging prospect for keeping such themes in Henry V, but that’s a discussion for later. There will be no triumphs at play, and none of these stories will end peacefully. This is a story about an unstable period of civil strife. Instead, The Hollow Crown begins with a warning that we are to experience “sad stories of the death of kings”. The tetralogy of Richard II-Henry V aka The Henriad could be a story of an unworthy King being justly deposed and the journey of a wayward prince to his triumph at Agincourt. The snippet also sets the tone of this phenomenal series. It’s the best possible snippet of Shakespeare to serve as a prologue to the Bard’s depiction of England engulfed in civil strife and kings losing their crowns. Some poison’d by their wives: some sleeping kill’d Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed How some have been deposed some slain in war, …Īnd tell sad stories of the death of kings Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs, ![]() The beginning of one of The Hollow Crown series, a new and perhaps definitive takes on the Histories, has Ben Winshaw somberly recite a passage from the “hollow crown” monologue from Richard II: ![]()
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