Richard II

THE HENRIAD PART 1

In a dramatic triple-header, the Guthrie Theater plays host to three plays by William Shakespeare which each form part of The Henriad, the celebrated playwright's history of 14th and 15th century English kings. Chronicling the drama, strife and political power struggles which gripped the throne, as with all of Shakespeare's timeless work they're as much an exploration of the human condition as they are his account of England's history.

Richard II is portrayed as a capricious and vain monarch, who is convinced of his own divinity, but fails to see the danger and precarious nature of his claim to the throne. Exiling all those who he sees as a threat, the banishment of Henry Bolingbroke would prove to be his undoing. Accusing the Duke of Norfolk of seizing his lands and plotting to murder his uncle the Duke of Gloucester, Henry leaves for exile abroad, promising to return for his rightful inheritance, with an army to support him. When Richard is distracted by a rebellion in Ireland, Bolingbroke returns quietly to England, intent on recovering his rightful property, and instigates an uprising against the incompetant king, much to the glee of his peers.