Simon Russell Beale in The Tragedy of King Richard The Second

The Tragedy of King Richard The Second
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins
CREATIVE TEAM
Direction: Joe Hill-Gibbins
Design: Ultz
Associate Designer: Charlotte Espiner
Light: James Farncombe
Sound: Peter Rice
Dramaturg: Jeff James
Casting: Ginny Schiller CDG
Resident Director: Lucy Wray
Costume Supervision: Claire Wardroper
CAST
Simon Russell Beale
Leo Bill
Martins Imhangbe
Natalie Klamar
John Mackay
Joseph Mydell
Saskia Reeves
Robin Weaver
almeida.co.uk/...
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TRANSCRIPT:
I have been studying how I may compare
This prison where I live unto the world:
And for because the world is populous
And here is not a creature but myself,
I cannot do it; yet I'll hammer it out.
My brain I'll prove the female to my soul,
My soul the father; and these two beget
A generation of still-breeding thoughts,
And these same thoughts people this little world,
In humours like the people of this world
For no thought is contented
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[@rory4605]

I remember seeing this back in 2019, i'd met Simon Russell Beale a few months before and told him i'd got tickets to see Richard II, he told me he was really nervous to do it, I hope I didn't throw him off! It was a really interesting production in the end. I didn't appreciate it much at first, but it really stuck with me, and i'm still thinking about it 4 years later. I think maybe that's what great productions do, ones which might not be reviewed well by critics, but have a real sense of danger and creativity. I think Joe Hill-Gibbins really distilled what Richard II is about, he cut out all the noise, all the pageantry, leaving the characters bare and non-descript on the stage. It was a clear production, full of clarity and explosiveness. And of course, Simon was excellent, as ever. As was Leo Bill as Bolingbroke.

[@rosemaryallen2128]

Disagree about the Bolingbroke! Thought he was the only weakish link in a brilliantly effective production. Simon RB dazzlingly made something moving out of Richard's emotional self-indulgence, but then he IS simply one of the best actors in the world...