The Tragedy of King Richard II

Shakespeare's Richard II and Marlowe's Edward II were successful stage productions recorded in the studio for BBC Television in the early days of colour transmissions. At that time only the recently inaugurated BBC 2 channel was broadcasting in colour and the new TV sets were very expensive.

I was a university student at the time and watched these outstanding productions in the colour TV lounge in my hall of residence. I've remembered them vividly ever since, particularly the young Ian McKellen's highly charged and sensual performances in the title roles.

Those were less enlightened times and young Ian was still firmly 'in the closet' but to my youthful mind his gay sensibility was more than evident, especially in the role of Edward II.

These landmark productions are crying out for a DVD release.

I was heading off to the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis to see a production of Henry IV. I knew that it would be helpful to review the play previous to it, Richard II. While I've read all of Shakespeare's play at some time, I had not read this one in decades. So, instead of reading it, I went to YouTube and found the Ian McKellen, 1970 version. I was so impressed with Sir Ian and the overall cast as well as the nicely produced settings. I did need a little history and a short synopsis, but I soon settled into the play and it made the performance I saw later much more meaningful. We get a look at a man who should never have been king, allying himself with the wrong people, and allowing his temper to rule him. In five minutes he throws away everything due to pique. I may search a few other of Shakespeare's often overlooked plays.

Although 'Richard II' may not be my favourite Shakespeare play, it does deserve to be performed a lot more. It's thematically fascinating, especially from a political standpoint, has great characterisation (especially the titular character and Bolingbroke) and while some may find the verse heavy dialogue too rambling it's still distinctive Shakespeare. It has been performed well many times and of the filmed adaptations 'The Hollow Crown' version is particularly stunning.

For an older production of the play (so a production pre-1980), done traditionally and tastefully with great acting, it doesn't get much better than this production. Other than the play, my main reason for seeing it was for the young Ian McKellen, who is a big favourite of mine, and this production shows that he was every bit as good at Shakespeare as he is now. This is a wonderful performance and goes perfectly with the performance of Christopher Marlowe's 'Edward II', also with McKellen and a few other cast members, and done in the same year.

McKellen is majestic in the title role, passionate, sensual, spontaneous and nuanced. He is also terrifically supported by particularly Timothy West's fiercely ruthless Bolingbroke and Robert Eddison's moving Duke of York. Nobody puts a foot wrong here.

The staging is always done tastefully with nothing questionable, senseless or unnecessary, everything gels well with the wonderful text, everything is coherent and it doesn't feel static or dull. All the crucial scenes having the right amount and kind of emotional impact.

Furthermore, the production also looks good, it may not be the most lavish production of 'Richard II' but it is one of the most traditional and most true to time and place ones. The settings are appropriately regal and the costumes at least don't look drab. The filming is very good, nothing chaotic or claustrophobic while not feeling too stagy.

Overall, wonderful. Shakespeare and McKellen fans, especially if interested to see what his acting was like when he was younger, should not miss it. 10/10.