#BEN WHISHAW's richard ii. who did it like him

[the-tenth-arcanum]

04.20 am & I'm in bed thinking about the line "for god's sake let us sit upon the ground / and tell sad stories of the death of kings" as uttered by ben whishaw specifically

[shredsandpatches]

post/675542769824088064 I get the impression from your tags on this post that you don't like Ben Whishaw's performance as Richard II - I was curious about why? (I haven't seen it, so I genuinely have no idea if I'd agree or not; I'm just surprised because I generally consider him a good actor and the clips I've seen floating around looked good, so it's disappointing if it was actually a letdown and I was curious what aspects you didn't like.)

I don't think he gives a bad performance or anything—I actually think he's quite good, and he is, as you say, a good actor. He just plays a very soft Richard II (with an edit of the text that really emphasizes that) and I don't like that as much. He did a perfectly fine job with an interpretation I'm not that keen on—I feel like Richard, although he's politically weak, should be made of sterner stuff. It's worth watching, in any event, as it's visually stunning and has some excellent supporting performances (and is definitely the strongest installment in the first season of The Hollow Crown and probably in the whole series).

I do have to admit that the insistence on the part of people who are really big fans that he is the definitive Richard II, and that anyone who prefers someone else (like, say, David Tennant, just for one example) is just a silly fangirl who doesn't really get the play/character, has really put me off his performance for reasons that are not at all Whishaw's fault, and yet. I wrote my fucking doctoral dissertation on Richard II, don't tell me I don't understand the play.

ANYWAY, I checked back to look at the post and I will also explain that the "once and future richard iis" tag is the one I use for posts containing both Derek Jacobi and David Tennant (usually but not exclusively from Doctor Who) because Jacobi was the first Richard I saw and Tennant is my all-time favorite, so that's why that tag, it's wasn't actually meant to be that much of a jab at Whishaw's version.

[fandomthoughts]

Saw Julius Caesar at the Bridge Theatre Three Times, and met Ben Whishaw. My review.

The new Bridge Theatre is beautiful. The interior is reminiscent of the candles from the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and there’s a good collection of bites that you can order -- from raw vegetables (sardines, organic carrots, and organic turnips is one dish) to an order of half-a-dozen freshly-baked madeleines. And walking out the doors, you’re immediately confronted with an intimate view of Tower Bridge. 

I had standing “mob” tickets to see Julius Caesar, and was only supposed to go see it once. However, I happened to be free the night before, and decided to treat myself. I’m glad I did, because I discovered there are “good” and “bad” spots to be standing -- especially for someone who isn’t very tall.

SPOILERS BELOW

For example, if you want to be witness to both David Calder (Caesar) and Ben Whishaw (Brutus)’s expressions during the stand-off right before “Et tu, Brute?”, a good spot is near the side of the raised platform close to Ceasar’s throne. (Incidentally, it’s also a good place to get splattered with a little stage blood.)

If you want to get a good view of the final confrontation between Brutus and Lucius, don’t stand right near the collection of jumbled trench metal that’s part of the war staging; you’ll only be able to see the actors’ backs.

If you want to get a good view of Brutus and Cassius’ confrontation during the stress of war, a good side to be is at the far end (where Caesar’s throne used to be), not at the side closer to the entrances. 

For the record, the stage management crew did an excellent job squeezing amongst the crowd and shuffling everyone around. Platforms fell and raised themselves; new rugs and desks and sofas appeared seemingly out of thin air. When the jagged trench metal appeared to divide the stage during the battle scenes, I was shouted at “Do you want to die?” as an incentive to get out of the way. Stage crew discreetly and expertly handed out at least two or three different types of posters that members of the crowd raised at appropriate key moments of the play, which was impressive to see from the vantage point of the gallery seats, and I know this because  --

Ah, yes. Later, I went back a third time and watched the performance from the seats. :)

If it’s at all possible, I would recommend both ticket types.

From the “mob,” nothing can beat the experience of:

A) watching the actors’ expressions up close, meters away

B) watching David Calder, Michelle Fairley (a most excellent Cassius), and Ben Whishaw spit at each other as part of their passionate enunciation, and hoping not to get in the way of the spittle. (I forgot this was a thing!)

C) I will say again: watching the actors’ expressions up close. 

However, there were a few things that I missed from the vantage point of the mob. Until I was in the seats, I didn’t realize that there was an actual jeep that drove out in the last scene, and I didn’t notice the "fire” burning near the entrance. From the seats, I was also able to notice better the stage changes -- such as the actors rushing to throw furniture into a crate on the cusp of the last stage change.

Watching Ben Whishaw live

This was my first time seeing Ben Whishaw act live. Most notably, I saw in Brutus echoes of Richard II from The Hollow Crown (his head shake) and his character from Lilting (his expression of sudden grief mourning Portia’s death). Also noticed the darting eyes and rippling of emotion during Lucius’ guitar song, reminiscent of at least some notable scenes from London Spy and the monologue in Queers. 

Struck me how practiced acting can be (like the darting eyes), though of course it takes skill to make it look natural.

I heard one commentator say that Ben Whishaw gave a masterclass in acting, and I am tempted to agree based on his micro-expressions and micro-movements. Randomly, I remember one particular scene where he tapped someone naturally on the shoulder, when all the other actors were standing still.

On the rest of the cast

Michelle Fairley and Adjoa Andoh gave very strong performances as Cassius and Casca. 

Cassius felt like the lead of the play, and a little like Cassandra: she had the wisest ideas, but everyone listened to the ineffectual, overly intellectual Brutus over her. 

David Morrissey played a convincing populist Mark Antony. 

Adjoa Andoh as Casca had fewer lines than the leads, but delivered arguably the best (snarkiest) lines and was able to draw out a reaction from the audience every time. 

David Calder played a believably old/retiring Caesar lured by the temptation of the crown.

Abe Popoola played Trebonius, one of the conspirators. Most notably, he was the lead singer in the band playing at the beginning of the show. He’s a damn good singer.

Leaphia Darko played a believably hurt Portia, wife of Brutus, who had the challenging task of going through a wide range of emotions in one short scene.

Wendy Kweh played a believable (though tragic) Calpurnia, wife of Caesar. It was also very cool seeing her as one of the soldiers in Brutus’ army.

Fred Fergus, who played Lucius, played an absolutely beautiful yet sleepy cover of Nick Drake’s Day is Done. It was short, but I thought it better than the original.

Kit Young I did not realize was Octavius until the very end, but he did a great job.

Sid Sagar was great as various characters. (Also: was he Cinna the Poet? I couldn’t tell.)

Hannah Stokely and Rosie Ede both had impressive stage voices.

END OF SPOILERS

I discovered Ben Whishaw rather recently; half a year ago, I fell and tripped into the James Bond fandom, and suddenly found myself a fan too of the actor who played Q, for:

A) his expressiveness/ability to emote, and

B) how he’s come across in the interviews over the years -- not as a typically gregarious actor, but as a more relatable person who’s a little awkward in interviews, and has been described by interviewers as closed-off. (Imagine that: a shy actor! Okay, I don’t believe for a minute that this 30-something-year-old actor is actually shy now, but my point is that his ability to transform himself in performances is inspiring.)

Was also inspiring to learn that Ben Whishaw’s breakthrough performance of Hamlet in 2004 inspired other now-arguably-more-famous actors to follow in his footsteps, from Kit Harrington to Eddie Redmayne to Joe Alwyn.

Meeting a favourite actor in person

There was a small roar of excited chatter when Ben Whishaw stepped out, and all at once he was surrounded by a crowd of people asking for signatures and photos. Many of them were young women.

It was interesting to see the discrepancy: a few of the other actors (not the leads) were also there, and people walked up to them, but they didn’t get nearly as much attention. A couple of the actors looked as if they were there for moral support or waiting for him to finish so they could get a drink all together later. 

Clearly, Ben has many fans. Then I heard one young man ask him about hearing that he had been having trouble memorizing lines for this play (which made me cringe a little -- what a question to ask), which he refuted. 

More pens borrowed, more photos taken. 

To be honest, I felt a little bad: the actor looked pretty tired in the middle of one group conversation, and wasn’t making eye contact with some immediate people waiting to meet him nearby.

What does one say to a favourite actor? To a celebrity?

When I eventually got the chance to approach, I admitted that I was a fan, told him that I was looking forward to his future work, and thanked him for being a wonderful performer. Felt weird to ask for an autograph or photo, so I left it at that. 

Last Thoughts

Seeing Julius Caesar three times underscored the impressive amount of repetitive work put into the production every time -- five or six days a week for twelve weeks, sometimes with two performances a day.

What a fun production it must be to be a part of. I envy the cast!

[lifetimeinafist]

@elsinored replied to your post “@goodshipophelia, To answer the second half of your question, the...”

Out of curiosity - who's your dream Richard II? And Bolingbroke?

I did an all female dream cast ages ago and I stand by it. I think Tatiana Maslany would be a BOMB Richard against Hayley Atwell as Bolingbroke. But I’d also LOOOOVE to see Ruth Negga’s Richard opposite Atwell or Tatiana Maslany opposite Samira Wiley as Bolingbroke. If I’m being forced to choose a dude, I though Ben Whishaw was pretty perfect. After seeing Oscar Isaac as Hamlet, I want to see him play every single major Shakespeare role, so I’d love to see his Richard opposite someone like David Oyelowo or Andre Holland.