STREAMING THEATER
Wobbly Autocrat, But Some Humanity
Shakespeare in the Park adapts Richard II as a radio play
BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE
Shakespeare in the Park
is always one of the mostanticipated
theatrical
events of the New York
summer. Sadly, for the fi rst time
in nearly 60 years, this event was
cancelled due to the pandemic. It
was doubly disappointing because
The Public had decided to stage
“Richard II,” which though one of
the lesser-performed plays is one of
the Bard’s most poetic and lyrical
among those historically themed.
Indeed, it is the only one of his
plays written completely in verse.
The production would have followed
in the Shakespeare-asagitprop
productions that have
enlivened the Delacorte during
the Trump era beginning in 2017.
Previously, we had the in-yourface
“Julius Caesar” that year
which drew nationwide protests
for a Caesar dressed like Donald
Trump; the subtler, Elizabethan
production of “Othello” in
2018 that portrayed the Moor as a
credulous fool; and last summer’s
galvanizing “Coriolanus” that featured
an arrogant, intemperate
leader whose ego is his own undoing.
So, I was champing at the
bit to see how they would treat the
story of an effete, ineffectual, and
easily manipulated monarch more
concerned with his right to be king
than actually ruling. In the play,
Richard, deposed by Bolingbroke,
does fi nally fi nd his humanity, so
there is that difference from our
current national predicament.
If four centuries teach us anything,
however, it’s that no matter
what crises may befall the world,
Shakespeare will fi nd a way, and
The Public in conjunction with
public radio station WNYC decided
to mount the production as a radio
play that is now available as a free
podcast.
While nothing really replaces
the value of seeing these plays
on stage, the radio version is remarkably
successful. Under the
direction of Saheem Ali and with
a wonderful cast of voice actors,
André Holland in the title role of the Shakespeare in the Park-WNYC radio play adaptation of “Richard
II,” directed by Saheem Ali. s Bolingbroke.
Miriam A. Hyman as Bolingbroke.
all of whom were slated to appear
on stage in the park, the play is
vibrant and exciting, and the medium
allows the language to resonate
in all its beauty. Ali has made
a judicious cutting of the original
text, for the most part abbreviating
speeches for length and excising
Shakespeare at some of his most
epigrammatic — but still leaving
all the most famous speeches intact.
It’s a wise choice, allowing
DYLAN COULTER
THE RIKER BROTHERS
images to take shape in the listeners’
minds of things that cannot be
shown. It’s really not that far from
Shakespeare’s original, scant production
values.
Ali has conceived the production
as a meditation on power, revolution,
the deposing of a king, and
the rise of a power intended to heal
the country. Casting a Black man
as Richard II (André Holland) and
a Black woman as Bolingbroke who
deposes him (Miriam A. Hyman)
demands that the listener hear the
play in the context of our current
culture. It’s a powerful choice that
gives the play a compelling immediacy
as it relates to race, gender,
power (seized and tenuous), and
agency.
The play has been divided into
four, hourlong parts, each bookended
with criticism and commentary
from scholars and the actors.
For newcomers to the work, these
provide a valuable context for understanding
and appreciating the
play as well. This format is also
fodder for discussion at home or in
an academic setting.
As for the play itself, listening to
the fi ne cast was a treat. The voices
are clear and distinct with a keen
understanding of Shakespeare’s
cadences. In addition to Hyman
and Holland, the cast includes excellent
performances from Stephen
McKinley Henderson, Claire van
der Boom, Estelle Parsons, Dakin
Matthews, and Elijah Jones. It is
narrated and introduced by Lupita
Nyong’o. The production was apparently
recorded over Zoom, but
the sound quality is remarkably
good — likely due to post-production
enhancement from the team
at WNYC.
The acting has been well-adapted
to the format as well. Holland
and Hyman, in particular, speak
with authority and nuance, imbuing
their characters with dimension
and passion. In the later
scenes, and especially in Richard’s
long speech — almost an aria —
in Act Five when he is in prison,
Holland brings honesty and humanity
to his character that evoke
empathy. Just by virtue of the fact
that hers is a woman’s voice, Hyman
invites us to hear Bolingbroke
anew. Bolingbroke is assured of
his cause, and yet having gained
the crown, the question of to whom
it truly belongs hangs over the last
lines of the play. That is the very
question that begins the next play
in the chronicle, “Henry IV, Part 1”
which opens with Henry saying,
➤ RICHARD III, continued on p.23
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