King Richard II

John Gielgud, Keith Michell and Leo McKern DIRECTED BY PETER WOOD

33/6 RPM LONGPLAYING-A 3 RECORD ALBUM THE SHAKESPEARE RECORDING SOCIETY / A CAEDMON PRODUCTION knight incontinently departed from the Court, with eight strong persons in his WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE company, and came to Pomfret, commanding the esquire, that was accustomed to sew- and take the assay [i.e. to serve and taste] before King Richard, to do so no more, saying: “Let him eat now’, for he shall not long eat.” THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ‘King Richard sat down to dinner, and was served without courtesy or assay. Whereupon, much marvelling at the sudden change, he demanded of the esquire why he did not his duty. “Sir,” said he, “I am otherwise commanded by Sir Piers KING RICHARD THE SECOND of Exton, which is new ly come from King Henry.” When King Richard heard that w’ord, he took the carving knife in his hand, and strake the esquire on the head, • • KEITH MICHELL . LEO McKERN saying: “The devil take Henry of Lancaster and thee together!” And with that w’ord, Sir Piers entered the chamber, well armed, wkh eight tall men likewise Directed by PETER WOOD armed, every one of them having a bill in his hand. ‘King Richard, perceiving this, put the table from him, and stepping to the © © foremost man, wTung the bill out of his hands, and so valiantly defended himself, 0 that he slew four of those that thus came to assail him. Sir Piers, being half dis¬ King Richard the Second. .John Gielgud Lord Willoughby.Bryan Stanyon mayed herewith, leapt into the chair where King Richard was wont to sit, while uncles to the king Lord Fitzwater .Bryan Stanyon the other four persons fought with him, and chased him about the chamber. And in John of Gaunt, Bishop of Carlisle.Leslie French Duke of Lancaster.Leo McKern Abbot of Westminster. . .John Nettleton conclusion, as King Richard traversed his ground, from one side of the chamber to Edmund, Duke of York. .Michael Hordern Lord Marshall.John Nettleton another, and coming by the chair, where Sir Piers stood, he w'as felled with a stroke Henry, surnamed Bolingbroke, Sir Stephen Scroop. .. .Geoffrey Bayldon of a poleaxe which Sir Piers gave him upon the head, and therewith rid him out Duke of Hereford, son to Sir Pierce of Exton. .Christopher Burgess of life; without giving him respite once to call to God for mercy of his past John of Gaunt; afterwards Captain of a band of offences. It is said that Sir Piers of Exton, after he had thus slain him, wept right King Henry IV.Keith Michell Welshmen.Bryan Stanyon Duke of Aumerle, Queen to King Richard... Rachel Gurney bitterly, as once stricken with the prick of a guilty conscience, for murdering him, son to the Duke of York. .Richard Easton Duchess of York.Hazel Hughes whom he had so long time obeyed as King.’ [W. Boswell-Stone, Shakespeare’s Thomas Mowbray, Duchess of Gloucester. . .Ethel Griffies Holinshed, pp. 125-6.] Duke of Norfolk.Jeremy Brett Lady attending on the Duke of .Edward Hardwicke Queen .Amanda Walker Apart from Holinshed, Shakespeare had a pattern for his play in Marlow e’s Edward the Earl of Salisbury.Michael Deacon Gardener .Geoffrey Bayldon Second, which also told how an irresponsible king wras deposed and murdered. Edward the Lord Berkley.Christopher Burgess Second was first produced about 1590; it was printed in 1593. Shakespeare’s Richard and servants to King Richard Gardener’s Man.Bryan Stanyon Bushy.Christopher Burgess Groom .John Nettleton Marlow’e’s Edw ard have something in common, particularly in the pathos of their abdications. Bagot .John Church Servant to Exton.Bryan Stanyon Towrards the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign Shakespeare’s contemporaries, for various Green.Edward Hard wicke Servant to Sir Pierce of reasons, thought that the story of Richard II reflected on their own times, and those mal¬ Earl of Northumberland. .Harold Lang Exton .Bryan Stanyon contents who favoured the Earl of Essex regarded him as a second Bolingbroke. So frequently Keeper.John Church Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, w'as the parallel made that when in 1599 a young lawyer called John Hayward brought out his son.Michael Deacon First Herald.Michael Deacon Lord Ross.John Church Second Herald.Edward Hardwicke a History of the life and reign of Henry IV which related the events leading up to Richard’s scene: and Wales deposition, the Privy Council regarded the book as highly seditious, especially since it was dedicated to Essex himself. Hayward w’as closely examined, and eventually imprisoned in ©0© the Tower. The suspicions of the Council wrere confirmed by Essex’s own followers. The day before Essex’s rebellion (7th February, 1601), Shakespeare’s company w’ere paid by INTRODUCTION Essex’s friends to perform Richard the Second at the Globe Theatre. Their action, by order of the Council, wras much emphasized in the sermons on the rebellion. Queen Elizabeth CHARD THE SECOND is a poet’s play, full of great speeches and fine herself recognized the parallel. In August, 1601, William Lambard, who w as Keeper of the writing rather than subtle character drawing and keen insight. For suc¬ Records in the Tow er, presented her with a catalogue. As she turned it over she came upon cessful production it needs mainly an actor with a vibrant voice and the reign of Richard II, and said: T am Richard II, know’ ye not that?’ To w’hich Lambard instinctive skill in the utterance of poetry, for Richard himself is an answered: ‘Such a wdcked imagination was determined and attempted by a most unkind actor-poet, forever posing. At the beginning of the play, he poses as the gentleman, the most adorned creature that ever your Majesty made.’ The Queen replied: stem, impartial judge in the accusation of Mowbray by Bolingbroke; in ‘He that will forget God will also forget his benefactors; this tragedy was played forty times the lists at Coventry he enjoys the dramatic moment when he so suddenly stops the combat. in open streets and houses.’ [John Nichols’ Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, 1823, vol. Ill, He assumes the role of the warrior king when he sails for Ireland, but when he returns to p. 552.] The play of Richard the Second had therefore certain significances in the late 1590’s find his own cause lost and his followers dispersed, he revels in the sad spectacle of his own which now’ mean nothing to a modem audience. It was probably for this reason that when min. In the Deposition Scene, he plays the leading part in his owtl tragedy with obvious zest; it w’as published in 1597, it w’ent rapidly into three editions, but w as not again reprinted and even in prison, ragged, deserted and alone, he is fascinated by the contemplation of his during the life of Queen Elizabeth. own stream of consciousness as he toys with the notion of himself as both king and beggar. Richard the Second was entered for printing on 29th August, 1597. The First Quarto The drama should therefore be relished less for its action than for its brilliant poetic edition is dated 1597, and is entitled The Tragedie of King Richard the second. As it hath virtuosity. beene publikely acted by the right Honourable the Lorde Chamberlaine his Servants. This The Life and Death of King Richard the Second was first produced about 1595 when text may have been set up from the original manuscript. Two other quartos are dated 1598. the Company—the Lord Chamberlain’s Men—were playing at the Theatre in Shoreditch. It In none of these w*as the Deposition Scene printed: it did not appear until the Fourth was thus one of Shakespeare’s earlier plays, and was written when he was still rather a poet Quarto in 1608. G. B. Harrison, Editor of Texts for the Society than a dramatist. He had already written the three parts of Henry the Sixth and Richard III. These plays presented the long Wars of the Roses, and the final end of those tragic events which began w hen the throne of Richard II was usurped by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke. For this recording the complete Penguin Shakespeare text has been used. To Shakespeare’s audience such history plays were full of meaning; for Henry VII, w’ho These texts closely follow the earliest originals, quarto or folio, reproducing defeated Richard III at Bosworth Field, and ended the anarchy of nearly forty years, was only separated by one generation from Queen Elizabeth. To contemporaries it seemed only their punctuation (which points the texts for reading aloud), arrangement too likely that when Queen Elizabeth should die another period of anarchy and civil war and readings far more closely than is usual in other editions of Shakespeare’s would follow’. After the success of the plays of the struggle between the Houses of York and plays. The reader may from time to time encounter unfamiliarities, but the Lancaster, Shakespeare now went back to show the beginning of the story. text is nearer to that used in Shakespeare’s own playhouse. His history, as before, he took from Ralph Holinshed’s Chronicles, which he adapted freely for his own purposes. The most memorable and poetic scenes, such as the death of Gaunt, the deposition of Richard, the parting of Richard wTith his queen, and his soliloquy ON THE COVER: Detail of the front panel of a 16th century Italian cassone, painted by Raffaele dei Carli, depicting an episode in the story of Susanna. The cassone front is in the collection of the Walters Art Gallery, in prison, were imaginary; but in a few' passages he followed Holinshed closely. The details, Baltimore, Maryland. for instance, of the murder of Richard were recorded in the Chronicle thus: NOTE: Be sure that stereophonic recordings are not played on monaural equipment. Monaural recordings, however, can be played to advantage on stereophonic equipment. If the cover of this album is not marked ‘One w’riter, which seemeth to have great knowledge of King Richard’s doings, STEREO, these records are monaural. saith that King Henry, sitting on a day at his table, sore sighing, said: “Have I no This recording of King Richard II has been produced for The Shakespeare Recording Society by Caedmon faithful friend which will deliver me of him, whose life will be my death, and Records, Inc. whose death will be the preservation of my life?” This saying was much noted of ©1961, THE SHAKESPEARE RECORDING SOCIETY, INC. Performance and reproduction rights informa¬ tion available from The Shakespeare Recording Society, Inc., 461 Eighth Avenue, New York 1, N. Y. them which wrere present, and especially of one called Sir Piers of Exton. This Made in U.S.A. thz KING RICHARDII William Shakespeare nformation availablefromThe Formance andreproductionrights kespeare RecordingSociety,Inc., 461 8thAve.,N.Y.1, Directed byPeterWood Keith Michell John Gielgud Leo McKern

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William Shakespeare KING RICHARD II

Act II, concluded Act III, scene 1

Jphn Gielgud Keith Michell Leo McKern Directed by Peter Wood Performance and reproduction ri information available from Tt Shakespeare Recording Society, 3Ao< William Shakespeare KING RICHARD II

Act III, concluded Act IV, Act V, scene 1

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John Gielgud Keith Michell Leo McKern Directed by Peter Wood Performance and reproduction rights information available from The Shakespeare Recording Society, Inc.,. ,461 8thA*e.,N.Y.I,N.Y. A'

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