Revolutionary Adaptation of RICHARD II to Hit the Stage at the Stratford Festival's Tom Patterson Theatre
The production, which starts performances on May 23, uses Shakespeare’s text and draws on sources beyond Richard II, including the Sonnets.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz May. 19, 2023
Through her many Stratford Festival productions, Jillian Keiley has taken audiences across time and place from Ancient Greece through Nazi Germany to modern-day Newfoundland, as well as to the imagined realms of Fantasia and Wonderland. This year, she takes us into the glamorous and gritty world of Studio 54, at its thrilling heights in the late 1970s to early '80s, with a revolutionary new version of Shakespeare's Richard II, conceived by Keiley and adapted by Brad Fraser.
The second of Shakespeare's epic history plays chronologically, Richard II is a lesson in realpolitik, moral corruption and human fallibility. The life of Richard - whose belief in his God-given right to rule plunged his kingdom into civil war - is reimagined in the 20th century, during a period when Culture Clash gave way to dizzying freedom for the queer community.
The production, which starts performances on May 23, uses Shakespeare's text and draws on sources beyond Richard II, including the Sonnets.
The creative team features Choreographer Cameron Carver, Set Designer Michael Gianfrancesco, Costume Designer Bretta Gerecke, Lighting Designer Leigh Ann Vardy, Composer Rhapsodius and Sound Designer Don Ellis.
"Richard's flashes of inspiration, his boldness, confidence and ecstatic joy all felt God-sent," says Keiley. "What our Richard learns is that these feelings were not the light of God but rather a manifestation of Richard's absolute belief in himself, bolstered by others' absolute faith in God's presence in him. Richard's hell is the turning away of all of those who once saw God in him; the loneliness of one stripped of all power and the desolation of an un-crowned head."
Stephen Jackman-Torkoff, who made his Stratford Festival debut last year as an ecstatically bold Smash in Every Little Nookie and a quirky but endearing John Brooke in Little Women, takes on the role of King Richard II.
The production also features David Collins as John of Gaunt, Jordin Hall as Henry Bolingbroke, Sarah Orenstein as Helena Percy, Countess of Northumberland, Michael Spencer-Davis as Edmund Duke of York and Emilio Vieira as Duke of Aumerle, with Celia Aloma, Malinda Carroll, Sarah Dodd, Thomas Duplessie, Justin Eddy, Mateo G. Torres, Charlie Gallant, Matthew Joseph, Matthew Kabwe, Wahsonti:io Kirby, Heather Kosik, Chris Mejaki, Marcus Nance, Debbie Patterson, Tyler Rive, Andrew Robinson, Steve Ross, Tyrone Savage, Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane, Jane Spidell, Danielle Verayo, John Wamsley, Alex Wierzbicki, Hannah Wigglesworth and Travae Williams
Richard II has its official opening on June 17 and runs until September 28 in the Tom Patterson Theatre. Tickets are available at stratfordfestival.ca or by calling 1.800.567.1600.
The 2023 season also features King Lear, Rent, Much Ado About Nothing, Les Belles-Soeurs, Monty Python's Spamalot, A Wrinkle in Time, Frankenstein Revived, Grand Magic, Wedding Band, Casey and Diana, Women of the Fur Trade and Love's Labour's Lost. For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca.
Performance Details:
RICHARD II
Adapted by Brad Fraser
Conceived by Jillian Keiley
CAST (in alphabetical order)
Celia Aloma Angel
Malinda Carroll Angel
David Collins John of Gaunt
Sarah Dodd Lady Scroop
Thomas Duplessie Harry Percy (Hotspur)
Justin Eddy Groom of the Stables
Mateo G. Torres Angel
Charlie Gallant Lord Willoughby
Jordin Hall Henry Bolingbroke
Stephen Jackman-Torkoff King Richard II
Matthew Joseph Angel
Matthew Kabwe Lord Ross
Wahsonti:io Kirby Angel
Heather Kosik Angel
Chris Mejaki Angel
Marcus Nance Abbot of Westminster, Angel
Sarah Orenstein Helena Percy, Countess of Northumberland
Debbie Patterson Duchess of York
Tyler Rive Understudy
Andrew Robinson Sir John Bushy
Steve Ross Bishop of Carlisle
Tyrone Savage Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk
Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane Angel
Michael Spencer-Davis Edmund, Duke of York
Jane Spidell Angel
Danielle Verayo Angel
Emilio Vieira Lord Aumerle
John Wamsley Sir Justin Green, Angel
Alex Wierzbicki Angel
Hannah Wigglesworth Queen Isabel
Travae Williams Angel
ARTISTIC CREDITS
Director Jillian Keiley
Choreographer Cameron Carver
Set Designer Michael Gianfrancesco
Costume Designer Bretta Gerecke
Lighting Designer Leigh Ann Vardy
Composer Rhapsodius
Sound Designer Don Ellis
Supervising Fight Director Geoff Scovell
Creative Consultant Sarah Garton Stanley
Cultural Consultant Kwaku Okyere
Intimacy Director Aria Evans
Associate Sound Designer Adam Campbell
Associate Fight Director David Chinchilla
Assistant Director Kwaku Okyere
Assistant Set Designer Freddy Van Camp
Assistant Costume Designer Danielle Fagen
Assistant Lighting Designer B.C. Batty
Assistant Sound Designer Alixandra Cowman
Assistant Fight Director Christina Fox
Stage Manager Brian Scott
Assistant Stage Manager Jordan Guetter
Assistant Stage Manager Scarlet Larry
Apprentice Stage Manager Ciaran Brenneman
Production Stage Manager Meghan Callan
Production Stage Manager Marie Fewer-Muncic
Production Stage Manager Cynthia Toushan
Production Assistant Brianna Unger
Technical Director Greg Dougherty
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