WNYC
in collaboration with
The Public Theater
presents

Free Shakespeare on the Radio
RICHARD II

Conceived for Radio & Directed by SAHEEM ALI
Music by WILLIAM THURBER

In Four Parts, July 13-16, 2020 8 p.m.

WNYC.org

Featuring
BARZIN AKHAVAN , SEAN CARVAJAL, MICHAEL BRADLEY COHEN, SANJIT DE SILVA, BIKO EISEN-MARTIN, MICHAEL GASTON, STEPHEN MCKINLEY HENDERSON, ANDRÉ HOLLAND, MIRIAM A. HYMAN, MERRITT JANSON, ELIJAH JONES, DAKIN MATTHEWS, JACOB MING-TRENT, MARIA MUKUKA, OKWUI OKPOKWASILI ESTELLE PARSONS, TOM PECINKA, PHYLICIA RASHAD, REZA SALAZAR, THOM SESMA, SATHYA SRIDHARAN, JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON, CLAIRE VAN DER BOOM, NATALIE WOOLAMS-TORRES, & JA’SIAH YOUNG


Welcome to “Shakespeare in the Park”, 2020 style. No park, except in your imagination. No crowd noise, the temperature is perfect, the seating is comfortable. The stars twinkle above. Close your eyes and listen to these amazing actors take you through the reign of England’s King Richard II. In this production, only the voices matter. Only the words. No costumes, props, staging. Just listen to the language, savor it, understand it, feel it.

King Richard II is not only history, it is a murder mystery. The lust for power, the desire for the golden crown, cousin against cousin. You thought your family was bad. The Duke of Gloucester has been murdered, but by whom? The royal family trade threats and insults. Richard banishes those who oppose him. He, and only he, is king. Anointed by God, empowered by God. The play recounts how that worked out for him.

The cast is multiracial. King Richard is African-American. Bolingbroke is not only African-American, but female. No British accents used. All American. It breaks the artificial boundaries to grand effect. The production is dedicated to Black Lives Matter.

For Richard, loss of power means loss of self. Can there be a worse fate? As usual, Shakespeare’s observations and insights never age. Today we see the fights for power, the posturing and posing and “spin” driven by that lust for control, for glory…but today, alas, not in glorious speeches. ’Tis a pity.

-Karen D’Onofrio-