MAYER WAKEFIELD is entertained but let down by an audacious production that, sadly, doesn't ring true
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Casting a contemporary eye on Shakespeare
MARY CONWAY recommends a production of Richard II that makes a striking break with tradition
IN THE HERE AND NOW: Ayesha Dharker, Adjoa Andoh and Leila Farzad in Richard II
[Ingrid Pollard]
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by drama that, despite accomplished performances, cannot overcome an unfocused script
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Richard II
Globe Theatre online
IN THIS production of Shakespeare’s Richard II, all the roles are played by women of colour and the result is that stereotypes are blown to pieces and the play’s universality and contemporary significance amplified.
In place of the rather constrained view of a single-nation Plantagenet Britain straight from the history books, co-directors Lynette Linton and Adjoa Andoh capture the melange that is the England we know today with its complex ethnic range and cultural heritage.
Designer Rajha Shakiry’s costumes flaunt the purples and magentas, the greens and golds of Africa and Asia and all the characters wear combinations of dresses and trousers that evoke Moroccan bazaars and the exotic East.
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Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY