Richard II, The Wanstead Curtain
Richard II, like so many of Shakespeare’s plays, has been re-appropriated, re-imagined and re-interpreted countless times. What we collectively love and admire about his work, is its ability to be totally transformed and yet the overarching themes transcend ages, settings, dialogues and so much more. Suffice to say, Richard II is one of his more socially conscious and political, a historical drama which explores, at its very heart the nature of fragile leadership. And yet so too does it speak of much further reaching and widely felt concepts of fickle loyalties and shifting allegiances.
And yet despite the very nature of the Shakespearean body of texts lending themselves to a frequency of dramatic possibilities, I have never seen it done like this before. A daring and bold new production from Far Between Theatre, the company has chosen to evoke Shakespeares King Richard (played by the lively and enthralling Audrey Parry) as a modern day CEO of England Enterprises - a ‘trillion-pound’ industry with a stronghold of power in the UK - but not for long.
Interjected with recorded news reports which dictate the chain of events onstage, we follow Richard through the death of old company mast-head John of Gaunt, played by Song Marshall - a masterful performance full of feeling and wisdom - the ‘buying up’ of Ireland which true to the original story would have been the Irish Wars, and finally the banishment and subsequent return of Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford - played by Nicole Brohl, in an accomplished turn worthy of The Globe. All of these forces result in the eventual and inevitable downfall of Richard.
With welcome comedic elements like the interchange of swords with lanyards - the phrase ‘I throw down my gage’ has never been more humorous. The employment of smartphones as a weaponised key prop is also brilliantly witty, their ability to cause harm and detriment fully realised. Likewise, the addition of office jargon exposes the odd nature of the relationships between characters - ‘the head of HR, and all the lowly interns turning to Bolingbroke’. This is a bright, shining beacon of how to properly ‘update’ Shakespeare.
One doesn’t always reflect on the parallels between the harshness and humiliating nature of medieval politics and the cut-throat nature of contemporary business - and yet this production has brought so many to light. Swearing an oath on the crown, with its manyfold terms and conditions, is indeed akin to signing a contract. Similarly, whilst on paper power may lie in one individual, there are in fact a number of networks which operate beneath the surface, meaning singular power is rarely secure. Loss of favour means fall from grace. In this case, as his subjects turn against Richard, likewise does the media - its attacks vicious and explicit.
The eager and energetic cast does more that due justice to this beloved play. From the raucous office party that began act one to the deposition and demise of Richard, each actor wholly embraced the complexity of their role and breathed new life into these well-worn characters. A version of Shakespeare for an age in which monarchical powers come up short against big business, we have a play that not only speaks to the modern generation but also sympathises with them. Power and success can indeed be ‘hollow’, particularly in a time of cancel culture and constant online scrutiny. When we fall, we fall hard.
For me, this was an evening full of delights. Firstly, to see such an exhilarating and inventive retelling of a classic Shakespearean drama, and secondly for the sublime treat of it being hosting in the newly transformed and almost unrecognisable Wanstead Methodist Church - now ‘The Wanstead Curtain’. I’m told that from this October it will be a fully decked out events venue and theatre - to further enliven the Wanstead Arts Scene. I look forward to what’s next in store for both Far Between Theatre and The Wanstead Curtain.