Shakespeare’s Richard II is a singularly interesting piece of the Shakespearean canon. It is the only one of his plays for which there is clear, specific historical evidence of censorship, due to its politically charged content. In particular, the section of Act Four, Scene One which involves the King’s appearance on stage was removed, by printers and possibly by performers, and the scene moves from the Bishop of Carlisle’s monologue to the plot to remove Henry from Richard’s throne. The reason for its removal is two-fold, because the scene is provocative in both its depiction of the King’s deposition, and in the agency it gives to parliament. This fact cannot be forgotten within the performance, despite the singular focus on Richard. The lines spoken by Richard are spoken due to the coercive efforts of the lords, and they represent something more insidious than a forceful removal or a death in battle. They present, in Richard, a King successfully “thrust from the throne in his may of youth by a mere usurper, under colour of a process at law utterly illegal” (Wilson, 11). In my project comps, I investigated the evolution of this scene and the censorship of it through centuries of change from initial performances during the rule of King James to modern understandings of the piece. For this symposium, I present a video of my performance inspired by the Garrick era of British theater, a period that serves as a chronological half-way point between Jacobean and modern styles of performance.
Jo, I really love this project. I learned a lot from your presentation in the Weitz. A wonderfully focused project.
Nice work, Jo. This was a fascinating and well-designed project. Those of us who got to see all four of your recorded performances enjoyed comparing the acting styles of the 18th-century Garrick era to the Jacobean and contemporary (21st-century) styles. I think my personal favorite was the post-modern performance, when you crawled out of a bedroom window on the Evans roof. I may never see Richard II in quite the same way again!
Jo, I’m really glad to have a chance to see your work after all (since I was in London last term). You might get yourself a copy of What Blest Genius: The Jubilee that Made Shakespeare, by Andrew Stott, for more on the Shakespeare/Garrick connection: good graduation present. Congratulations!–Connie
“Music do I hear?” So great to hear the language brought to life and to see you inhabit the part like this. Congrats, Jo!
You clearly inhabit the role: you have a crown in quarantine! This scene is powerful and disturbing, as the character should be, and your larger project showed the intersection of performance and history well.
What a wonderful melding of your acting skills and your interpretive prowess! I’m so glad I saw your full comps presentation in March – and this is a wonderful reminder of that. Congratulations on a deep and nuanced project!