Missy - Richard II ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 I love the Henriad and I enjoy many things about the War of the Roses .  That whole conflict was set into motion largely by the events depicted in this play.

The first version I saw of this play had Richard as some sort of homophonic’s idea of an effete lily livered coward and Henry Bolingbrook as a basic John Wayne swaggerer.

This version is the first Richard II I loved. I bought the DVDs as soon as they came out and my mom bought them for me later that year for my birthday. Apparently I also bought them from Amazon because when I looked it up to rent it I found that I last watched it in 2023 when I purchased the series (ha thanks ADHD). 

Things I love about this version: sets, casting, delivery. 

Things I don’t love: it’s fairly dense and I’m glad we started with other plays because this is one that takes some Shakespeare in the ear. Don’t get me wrong, the language is beautiful and its complexity, especially in Richard’s case is fully intentional.

Mariam was looking forward to getting to the histories and here we are. I very much hope she’s likening them so far.

The sets were beautifully shot but were also, in and of themselves, beautiful. Everything here was shot on location and for the most part the palaces and forests are still mostly as they were. When my little SCA loving, history buff of a heart imagines the best things of the Middle Ages this is the stuff. Many things are in their platonically ideal state in this series. There are castles and knights and bowers and bridges all worth drooling over. I don’t tend to think of backgrounds as lush but Richard’s tent or the simple throwing stones into the river scene, during the ‘planning’ of the Ireland campaign, are just plain lush.

The delivery here is tricky. There is an awful lot of iambic pentameter in this play. There are many many speeches that could as well be lists. There is the floral speech of the elite aristocracy and very little else for many scenes. 

It’s delicate work to be true to the text and not off putting to the modern ear, with Richard II. I feel like they did a bang up job. The delivery felt authentic and poetical. It felt idealized rather than patronizing.

It’s the cast though that takes this one to 5 stars. I love Shakespeare but I don’t throw my 5 stars around without consideration. 

Ben Wishaw, who I adored as Ariel in our recent Tempest watch, IS Richard II. He got the BAFTA for this and it was well deserved.

His Michael Jacksonesque money and sense of celebrity leavened with a risible messiah complex make for a riveting watch. He speaks poetry like conversation and pushes camp to a complexity rarely matched. He’s earned the 5 stars all by himself.

Look at his moods here.

He is a figure that would make my daughter yell “Slay”. He’s full of drama and grandeur and I love him.

He’s a terrible ruler though.

The Divine right of Kings is at issue here and boy is it an issue.

His cousin Henry Bolingbrook is honorable and ambitious and Kingly in most other ways. He’s also in the end a traitor. 

I like very much the portrayal here by Rory Kinnear. He is a little at a loss, most of the time, and has both real affection for his cousin and a constant internal battle when obeying his orders. 

I like that he feels so aware of himself  throughout. He lies to himself and others to justify his actions, but he knows it. The rationalizations are sensible and inexcusable.

But also, and especially to a modern American non monarchist, he is right. 

My shout out this time goes to Patrick Stewart. John Gaunt/Old Gaunt is a small part, if pivotal, and I’d forgotten that he was even in this version. Then I saw him and couldn’t believe I’d forgotten. He is great here, sympathetic and honorable and full of righteousness indignation. 

Three cheers for Patrick Stewart (his Macbeth is also worth a look).

The Hollow Crown series was made for the British Cultural Olympiad in 2012 when they had the Olympics. I wish that every nation would do one of those. What a gift of funding and energy and what a jewel of accomplishment.

The Histories don’t get as much love as they deserve and I’m so glad to see the Henriad get this treatment.

I know some reviews of this production have called it pandering but I am fine with that. Pander to me. Make the plays seem beautiful and sordid and scandalous. Shakespeare is all of those things. They are lascivious and they are thought provoking. I roundly reject the critics who tried to fault this production. 

Richard II - 5 stars for cast and watchability 

Mom score - 4 stars for the Duchess of York pardon scene. It’s not a 5 star as it’s such a small part but excellent moming and a bonus for her little scold at the end. 

If you want a fun War of the Roses recap please watch this Horrible Histories video summary. 

I know Horrible Histories is gross and juvenile at times but it’s just so darned good. 

It used to be my son’s favorite show and it delivered him

 into kindergarten with a fully accurate rendition of the full lineage of the Kings and Queens of England from Athelstan on down. 

That boy could do you a history list like some kids do dinosaurs.