I'm taking a little break from A Midsummer Night's Dream because the DVD of the RSC production of David Tennant in Richard II arrived a while back, and I'm not going to wait any longer to watch it. And it's Richard II! My favorite Shakespearean history! And it has David Tennant! I might get my wife to watch this!
I think it's hard for David Tennant to shake his Doctor Who character, and Richard probably isn't the role to use to break out of that stereotype. I think it would be great to see him as Richard III, or Edmund from King Lear. In this production, though, David Tennant sort of finds one note and sticks with it. It's a good note, but he is capable of so much more.
This Richard II is a filmed theater production. The actors are on a thrust stage in front of a proscenium. There are also ramps for actors to enter and exit in the front corners, and musicians are high above the audience on the sides. Lighting effects and an occasional chair fill in for scenery. The audience surrounds the stage on three sides, and appears to have been coached to keep still and keep quiet. The setup is actually not too far off from the Blackfriars stage that the Lord Chamberlain’s Men would have used, although I believe they were mostly working at The Globe when Richard was probably written. I’ll let that go, though. Richard II was a politically very dangerous play to put on at all. It’s reasonable to think that it was too hot to be shown a The Globe, but may have been performed more often indoors, by request, at Blackfriars.
So how did it turn out? Well, not bad. Richard II will never be a comedy, but Shakespeare wrote in a few good jokes here and there, and even the heavier dramatic scenes have at least a few laughs thrown in to cut the tension. This production is so serious that the audience is ready to jump on any opportunity for a little giggle. The appearance is that everyone knows who the star is, and nobody’s going to get in his way. Nigel Lindsay is appropriately bland and masculine as Bolingbroke. Michael Pennington is no John Gielgud or Patrick Stewart, but he still makes a solidly good John of Gaunt. Emma Hamilton does what she can as the Queen. Oliver Rix is given a bit more meat to chew on as Aumerle. You might recognize Oliver Ford Davies from his role as Naboo politician Sio Bibble in the Star Wars prequels. It’s pretty much the same role, just with better writing.
This is not my favorite Richard II. I enjoyed it. David Tennant is always worth watching (even when he’s letting his hair extensions do most of the work). But I was left with the feeling that I really wanted to re-watch the Hollow Crown version, and I’d still like to see all of the Mark Rylance Globe version. If you need a version to watch for a class, this will do nicely (but stick through to the end, or you’ll get an F on your paper!). If you are a teacher and need a Richard II to show your class, try to get your hands on the Mark Rylance version.
Here's the RSC Website, where you can find all sorts of cool stuff: http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/richard-ii/
Here's a clip from the deposition scene:
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