In contrast to recent productions in Cambridge, George Johnston’s decision to keep his upcoming production of Richard II in its original setting is fairly unusual. Taking as his cue the performance during the 1601 Essex Rebellion which was a challenge to Elizabeth I’s position as monarch might seem worryingly lacking in relevance to a modern audience. However, Johnston feels that this particular play “doesn’t suit modernising” unlike some of Shakespeare’s other works.  

For him, the Richard’s power is inherently tied up in the loss of the body politic for the eponymous role from his body normal, signified by the move from referring to himself as ‘we’ to ‘I’ during the course of the play. “Do it in suits, make it about Tony Blair and something is lost” Johnston argues, the divine right to rule not existing for a contemporary setting where political power is tied up with popular participation.  The text contains ideas of nationalism and religion alien to modern British characters, and so would undermine the audience’s ability to sympathise with the intentions and motivations of the characters.

Which is not to say that Johnston is opposed to the transposing of plays to a different setting; he previously acted in the Pembroke Players’ Japan Tour production of Twelfth Night, set in the 1940s, and had also considered directing a Richard III set in Putin’s Russia. That particular Richard, he feels, rather like Iago, is a perfect villain regardless of context. Having read some criticism on Othello which claimed that Iago’s character flaws stem from his inability to love, Johnston admits that it was a remark that could quite feasibly be said by “Harry Potter talking about Voldemort.”

Then why decide to put on an inherently historical play as the Easter Term Shakespeare when there were others to pick from? The key, for Johnston, is the lyrical nature of the text, Richard II notable for being entirely in verse. He is keen to discuss the “little rhetorical tricks” and repetition, with the sound of the words in the play resulting in it being ranked for Coleridge and Yeats’ amongst Shakespeare’s best, alongside the more popular Hamlet. Viewing “poeticism as a condition of the play” which brings the tragedy of the events at its forefront, the main priority for him as a director was focussing on the words itself.

Not wishing the twenty scene changes to undermine the play’s pace, the set will be relatively minimal for a large production. Despite this, the production team consists of a number higher than most ADC shows, including assistant and associate directors (Charlotte Quinney and Hellie Cranney respectively). Indeed, Johnston has again worked with a composer, as was the case for Michaelmas’ An Enemy of the People, this time a live band being present with music being used during some of the soliloquies. Add to this a large cast who have had three days of workshops, focussing on movement and verse, and the impression one gets is that the first ADC mainshow of the term has an ambition unrestrained by its costume dress.