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...Richard II” is a surprisingly underrated work, often lost in the adoration heaped upon Shakespeare’s more famous plays. Yet it is one of his most vital and affecting pieces; the tale of Richard’s deposition by Henry Bolingbroke addresses the key question of what it means to be a king and what it means to overthrow one. By approaching this classic tale of Richard II with a new angle, Hyperion ambitiously turns the audience’s attention to a play worth exploring for its mix of political and personal drama...
...even feminine—and constantly struggling to live up to his position. The decision by director Meryl H. Federman ’11 to use only female actresses for this production appears to be motivated by this original depiction, and it is a choice that defines the play. The production makes no effort to bring any other new aspects to the script, relying solely on its unorthodox casting to make its claims about femininity...
...unexplored depths of her character. Her performance as the king is the undoubted triumph of the production and lends some justification to the use of an all-female cast. Initially, she seems uncertain in the role; it is very apparent that she is a woman trying rather unsuccessfully to play a man. As the play progresses, it becomes evident that this characterization is deliberate: Kinsley’s struggles with masculinity mirror those of Richard’s with kingship. Eventually, Kinsley blossoms, becoming a fascinatingly deep character. Even as Richard loses his grip on his crown and his sanity...
While Kinsley’s performance matures as the play goes on, the portrayal of Bolingbroke by Emily B. Hecht ’11 moves in the opposite direction. Whereas Kinsley is hesitant in the opening exchanges, Hecht delivers her verse with authority, exuding confidence and manliness. As the play progresses, Bolingbroke also becomes a more complex character—though, compared to Richard’s, this transformation is much less satisfying. Faced with Richard’s defeatism but continuing righteousness, Bolingbroke has no retort. This is less the fault of Hecht than the performance as a whole...
...decline in Henry’s character exposes the essential flaw in Federman’s scheme. Having a woman play the king is fascinating, but having women play all of the other roles too is essentially meaningless. Exactly the same effect, or an even stronger one, could have been created with Kinsley as Richard and more conventional casting. Almost all of the supporting performances are strong, particularly that of second year HLS student Mary R. Plante as Bolingbroke’s father, John of Gaunt. However, these depictions don’t tell us anything new about the characters...