London Theatre Company have today released more production photos of Richard II. Starring Jonathan Bailey and directed by Nicholas Hytner,this fresh take on Shakespeare’s subtle, caustic and powerful play is currently playing the Bridge Theatre until 10 May 2025.
Joining Jonathan Bailey (Wicked, Bridgerton, Company) as Richard II, is Royce Pierreson (The Witcher, Judy, Line of Duty) as Henry Bullingbrook, Christopher Osikanlu Colquhoun (Absentia, The Doctor – Duke of York’s Theatre, Comedy of Errors – RSC) as Earl of Northumberland, Olivia Popica (The Wheel of Time, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, The Tattooist of Auschwitz) as Queen Isabel, Amanda Root (Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth – RSC, Persuasion) as Green and the Duchess of York, Nick Sampson (Julius Caesar – Bridge Theatre, The Unfriend – West End) as John of Gaunt and Phoenix Di Sebastiani (The Great, Top Boy, Anne Boleyn) as Thomas Mowbray and Groom. Returning to the Bridge Theatre is Michael Simkins (Guys & Dolls – Bridge Theatre, The Crown, Silent Witness) as the Duke of York.
The cast is completed by Adam Best (Peaky Blinders, The Crown, Twelfth Night – National Theatre) as Bagot, Seamus Dillane (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, The Invention of Love – Hampstead Theatre) as Duke of Surrey, Vinnie Heaven (Cowbois – RSC, A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare’s Globe, Cuckoo – Soho Theatre) as Duke of Aumerle, Jordan Kouamé (Wolf Hall 2, The Mirror and the Light – RSC) as Bushy and Percy, Gerard Monaco (A Small Family Business, Children of the Sun, The Kitchen – National Theatre, A View from the Bridge – Duke of York’s Theatre) as Scroop and Keeper, George Taylor (The Lady In The Van, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) as Lord Fitzwater, and Badria Timimi (Our Girl, My Brilliant Friend – National Theatre) as Bishop of Carlisle. Understudies are Emma Bown (Romeo and Juliet – Original Shakespeare Co, Sex Education), Martin Carroll (Twelfth Night, Richard III – The Apollo, The Royal Hunt of the Sun – National Theatre) and Stephan Boyce (Aladdin – Lyric Hammersmith, The Coloured Valentino – Arcola Theatre).
Richard II is charismatic, eloquent, and flamboyantly witty. And a disastrous King – dishonest, dangerous, and politically incompetent. Echoing down the centuries is the perennial problem: how to deal with a ruler who has a rock-solid right to rule but is set on wrecking the country he leads. Shakespeare’s subtle, caustic, and powerful play revolves round two startlingly modern figures: Richard, an autocrat who believes he is divinely sanctioned, and Henry Bullingbrook, a hard-headed pragmatist who has genuine authority.
