Richard II

After the blazing success that that was Guys and Dolls, The Bridge Theatre’s decision to go with Richard II is a curious choice. Artistic director Nicholas Hytner is once again back at the wheel overseeing this latest revival of the history play. And, as with all history plays, it behoves critics to point out the modern parallels.

The action takes place in a country that is fiercely proud (“This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England”) even though it is increasingly beholden to foreign interests (“This land…is now leased out…like to a tenement or pelting farm”) and prone to shooting itself in the foot with decisions like Brexit (“that England that was wont to conquer others hath made a shameful conquest of itself”). Led by a king with a dark past who is manipulative, untrustworthy, melodramatic and utterly out of his depth when it comes to commanding the nation, all Jonathan Bailey needed was an orange hue and a red tie to complete the picture.

This isn’t Bailey’s first dally with the Bard but never before has he had the lead role. While he did well opposite Taryn Egerton in Mike Bartlett’s complex relationship drama Cock, it’s hard to escape the feeling that he is out of his depth here. His popularity with Gen-Z has grown hugely in recent years due to roles in Netflix’s Bridgerton and the film version of Wicked but his fans are in for a shock if they expect light entertainment here. If anything, Richard II is about that achromatic space between right and wrong, good and bad; if it was written more recently, it could have been called Fifty Shades of Grey if that title didn’t invoke involuntary retching nowadays.

That’s not to say Bailey is bad. Far from it. He is at his best when camping up the king’s more capricious side, favouring one side then the other all the while trying to hide his own unsavoury actions. He struggles, though, to capture the sheer terror and torment Richard feels during his trial as he witnesses everything he has held dear - his crown, his wife and his friends - slip away while his nemesis Bolingbroke ascends the throne as Henry IV. The deeply emotional outcries should invoke pity for the deposed king, not the occasional shrieks of laughter from the audience.

Bailey doesn’t exactly play the courtroom scenes for laughs but neither does he come across as a man who has reached his nadir and is still freefall plunging towards an uncertain fate. It’s not like he lacks for inspiration: across town, Stephen Kunken is playing a similar role - a villainous lead who, despite his machinations, is eventually defeated - in the climate change thriller Kyoto but in a far more convincing and engaging fashion.

Across from home, Royce Pierreson is a revelation. The actor is known for character parts in cop show Line Of Duty and Netflix’s The Witcher but neither have really showcased the talent he shows here. Theatre can be an unforgiving space but Pierreson revels in his part. With the kind of charisma that many political leaders can only dream about, he plausibly demonstrates how Bolingbroke comes back from his unjust exile, marshals his forces, turns those sent to block his advance to his side and eventually comes out on top. It’s a masterfully kinetic display of Shakespearean dynamism, his body attuned to the dialogue through every speech and utterance.

This isn’t the worst case of stunt casting seen this year or even this month but a brave move to bring the Netflix-addled masses into the theatre barely pays off. Given how many excellent versions there have already been of this character and this play, will this Richard II live long in the memory? Well, probably as long as the king himself.