Richard II

From the Royal Shakespeare Company -- a fresh new edition of Shakespeare's tragic history of a ruler losing his grip on power THIS EDITION INCLUDES: * An illuminating introduction to Richard II by award-winning scholar Jonathan Bate * The play - with clear and authoritative explanatory notes on each page * A helpful scene-by-scene analysis and key facts about the play * An introduction to Shakespeare's career and the Elizabethan theatre * A rich exploration of approaches to staging the play featuring photographs of key productions The most enjoyable way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or participate in it. This unique edition presents a historical overview of Richard II in performance, recommends film versions, takes a detailed look at specific productions and includes interviews with two leading directors and an acclaimed actress/director -- Michael Boyd, Claus Peymann and Fiona Shaw -- so that we may get a sense of the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible, a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made 'our contemporary' four centuries after his death. Ideal for students, theatre-goers, actors and general readers, the RSC Shakespeare plays offer an accessible and contemporary approach to reading and rediscovering Shakespeare's works for the twenty-first century.