Richard II at the Bridge, or Making the Text Live

 The last time I saw this play it was an RSC production at the Barbican featuring a mesmerising performance from David Tennant in the title role. The time before that was as part of the equally unforgettable RSC History Cycle at the Roundhouse. This new production from Nicholas Hytner at the Bridge was therefore up against stiff competition.

The first test of any Shakespeare production, and quite a few recent ones I've seen have not passed it, is whether the text is well delivered such that it ceases to be a barrier. While not completely flawless I'm pleased to say that the standard from this ensemble is very high. The money speeches are all there (Gaunt's "this sceptered isle", Richard's various monologues etc.), but there's also much fine work from those in the smaller roles. Hytner also effectively finds humour, though I sometimes found the tendency of the audience to laugh in moments of tension a bit baffling.

Alys, Always at the Bridge, or, What a Loathsome Collection of People

Note: This is a review of the matinee performance on Saturday 1st April 2019.

I must first admit that I wasn't in a particularly receptive mood when I arrived for this show. Only my completionist tendencies (and the cost of the ticket) had persuaded me to leave the comfort of the sofa after a heavy week at work. But a good show makes you forget you're tired (as the Royal Opera's magnificent Forza del Destino did the previous weekend). This tedious adaptation failed to achieve that for me.

Lucinda Cox/Harriet Lane's narrative concerns Frances (Joanne Froggatt) who finds herself alone at the scene of a car crash in which Alys dies. Alys's family then ask Frances to see them where the latter proceeds to lie about their loved one's final words. And so begins a narrative of scheming and deception which will see Frances, two long hours later, triumphant over everybody on stage in both work and relationships - she isn't actually surrounded by a pile of corpses, but the effect is very much the same.