Guest blogger, Casey
Weed, writes about his experience playing Northumberland in our current
production of Richard II. In our show, Aaron Black and I are each playing
Richard and Bolingbroke, but which actor plays which part is determined by a
coin-toss right before the show. Although the other actors are playing the same
roles every night, they are playing those roles in two very different shows, as
Casey's post explains. (Spoiler alert: Casey discusses our takes on the characters so far. If you're planning to see the show and want to be surprised by this, you might want to come back and read this after you see the show.)
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The same man is given two
sets of circumstances- two significantly different relationships- and the same
set of goals. With a guaranty that the outcome is semantically the same-
the script, after all, does not change- does the journey change? To what
degree?
Our experiment with two
possible Bolingbrokes has been an intriguing one with these questions floating
about like those paper-filled panty hose in an old high school haunted house;
you know they are there, what they are isn't a mystery, and yet every time your
head bumps into them they give you an awkward start.
After analyzing the text
and making my discoveries about what Northumberland wants- I believe him to be
the primogenitor of the entire usurpation plot, earliest in and by far the most
active in moving things forward- I looked at the way the shapes and textures of
the different Bolingbrokes and Richards mesh and grind together.
Kevin's Bolingbroke seems
more designing with fewer ties to tradition and the Old Way... hungrier in an
immediate sense for power. A Northumberland with this Harry as his friend
doesn't need to obfuscate or coddle; the crown can be a little bloody when we
get it. And we will get it, Harry... believe that.
When the coin falls the
other way- with Aaron Black's more morally considerate Bolingbroke acting in
the now and generally more surprised by how events are turning-
Northumberland's mode has to be one that salves his conscience and
yet spurs him through to do the terrible and great tasks before him. The
Earl seems to say to this Bolingbroke: "So sad that circumstances have
forced us down this path but it is your duty to see them through, Your
Grace."
The different Richards?
Well, they are a factor, too, but as an obstacle rather than an ally it
affects Northumberland to a lesser degree. The scene at Berkely Castle
where we make our first demands presents the most significant challenge: how
does Northumberland's speech change Richard's mind so drastically and so
abruptly? It must be in the delivery, certainly, as there is nothing
overt in the short and disingenuous speech to trigger such an East to West
turn.
Northumberland. The
king of heaven forbid our lord the king
Should so with civil and uncivil arms
Be rush'd upon! Thy thrice noble cousin
Harry Bolingbroke doth humbly kiss thy hand;
And by the honourable tomb he swears,
That stands upon your royal grandsire's bones,
And by the royalties of both your bloods,
Currents that spring from one most gracious head,
And by the buried hand of warlike Gaunt,
And by the worth and honour of himself,
Comprising all that may be sworn or said,
His coming hither hath no further scope
Than for his lineal royalties and to beg
Enfranchisement immediate on his knees:
Which on thy royal party granted once,
His glittering arms he will commend to rust,
His barbed steeds to stables, and his heart
To faithful service of your majesty.
This swears he, as he is a prince, is just;
And, as I am a gentleman, I credit him.
Should so with civil and uncivil arms
Be rush'd upon! Thy thrice noble cousin
Harry Bolingbroke doth humbly kiss thy hand;
And by the honourable tomb he swears,
That stands upon your royal grandsire's bones,
And by the royalties of both your bloods,
Currents that spring from one most gracious head,
And by the buried hand of warlike Gaunt,
And by the worth and honour of himself,
Comprising all that may be sworn or said,
His coming hither hath no further scope
Than for his lineal royalties and to beg
Enfranchisement immediate on his knees:
Which on thy royal party granted once,
His glittering arms he will commend to rust,
His barbed steeds to stables, and his heart
To faithful service of your majesty.
This swears he, as he is a prince, is just;
And, as I am a gentleman, I credit him.
An acerbic and
bitey, spitey Richard (Gates) requires a much more 'no nonsense', factual
rebuttal that leaves the true meaning of the speech sitting like a cold
tombstone on the stage with a dried dead rose laid upon it. In contrast,
the tool Northumberland uses on the pensive and moodier Black Richard has far
more bark and threat in it to better snap him from his delusion- an image of an
axe being sharpened and tested on an overripe melon, violently and hatefully.
The Earl is the same man
no matter which way the coin falls: ambitious, perhaps even to the point of
greed; protective of his own line; and a machinator of the first order.
Each relationship presents itself as a locked door requiring a different
key but leading to the same room.
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