Shakespeare's Richard II is a weak, corrupt monarch who possesses an impressive voice but not the ability to turn his grand theory of kingship into equally grand practice. The reliably suave Charles Edwards isn’t an obvious candidate to play this capricious figure. But he sensitively conveys Richard’s descent from arrogant mockery — when he banishes his cousin Bolingbroke and the obstinate Duke of Norfolk — into an inept vulnerability that contrasts with Bolingbroke’s shrewdness and populism.
Simon Godwin’s production opens with a scene that’s not Shakespeare’s, in which Richard is crowned as a child. Shards of gold foil tumble into the audience, and they’re still in evidence two-and-a-half hours later. Like Paul Wills’s gilded set, they reflect Richard’s conviction that he’s as potent and golden as the sun — and illustrate the fragility of this self-image.
Godwin captures the play’s concern with ceremony and the bombastic, decaying language of politics. But the production’s tone is at times uncertain. Although there are jarringly droll moments involving Graham Butler’s admittedly sparky Aumerle and Sarah Woodward’s passionate Duchess of York, more natural opportunities for comedy are missed, and some of the stately scenes in the first half move too slowly.
Edwards aside, the performances tend to be a little over-egged. But among the supporting cast the standout is William Gaunt. While his name alone makes him an apt choice to play the dying John of Gaunt — and ensures that the character’s puns on the adjective “gaunt” take on an extra layer of resonance — it’s his relish for the role’s nostalgic poetry that hits home.
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