#they did it. they cast a perfect aumerle

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Stills from the Bridge Theatre's production of Shakespeare's Richard II.

[beakybeakybeaky]

Just saw the Bridge Richard II!

Thoughts below …

I went in to this with pretty low expectations from an adaptation point of view (not performances, I knew Jonathan Bailey had this) but I was pleasantly surprised!

- STABBY BAGOT!!!! There was no Exton in the cast list so I was bracing myself for Stabby Aumerle, but no. Bagot becomes part of the new administration and he’s the one that takes up the hint.

- I say administration because it’s very modern. They even have a soundtrack that’s incredibly similar to the Succession theme lol

- I first was like ‘this doesn’t seem very queer’ but I was ace-erasing myself. Because he’s a very sexless Richard??? Which is interesting. He didn’t like anyone touching him. Even on ‘need friends’ he reached out then pulled his hands back. I was expecting Jonathan Bailey to be very very slutty, based on previous performances lol, but he does contain multitudes. It was definitely an interesting take.

- he was so good though! So dramatic and heartbreaking and fabulous. He made me laugh and cry. Eating dead Gaunt’s grapes while lounging in his hospital bed while York lectures him about taking his stuff. He tackles the dying gaunt to the floor! He tosses away his walker! Yikes

-I knew despite the press and the media surrounding it they couldn’t make me hate my boy Diccon. He did such a great job. Of course I’m primed to love him but really he does a great job of him being a total asshole yet of course sympathetic.

- speaking of York, the Yorks were great. Styled like rich country people for the scene in their house, she’s wearing a fancy Burberry poncho

- Bushy, Bagot and Greene were all of varying ages and Greene was an older woman (double cast as Duchess of York). Which was very interesting, they totally left out the sexual aspect of their quote “influence” over Richard. They were doing coke though lol

- Richard slams the mirror into his forehead to break it during the deposition scene and it was amazing

- Bolingbroke was so good! I really liked him, just perfect and perfectly matched Richard. The dick swinging was as homoerotic as the play got. But he had the sort of sinister ‘I’m here for Lancaster I swear’ thing down perfectly. Especially contrasted with Northumberland after he becomes king and it really sets up what’s to come (I want to see this cast continue to Henry IV!!!!! I always do!!!)

- the use of modern setting meant that at Flint, they have a giant fuck off rocket launcher pointed at Richard.

- oh. Flint. This was what I missed the most. They cut the Aumerle conversation almost entirely. Thou weepst? I WEEPST. I am the tender-hearted cousin. I’ll just have to watch the RSC cuddling a couple of hundred times I suppose.

- Aumerle was delightfully twinky and entirely pathetic and I loved him. Again though, no sexual tension at all.

- I started with STABBY BAGOT because I was shocked at first but circling back - I cried the whole prison scene, it was so good. Then when the guard arrives with the food and refuses to taste it, Richard tackled him and force fed him the food. As he’s doing that Bagot arrives and stabs him, while the guard dies from the poisoned food. It was really good.

I’m sure I’ll remember a hundred little things but overall - not the best, but better than I thought. Made some interesting choices and I loved Jonathan Bailey.