Theatre Storm

Review: ‘Richard II’ From African American Shakespeare Company

By Charles Kruger | April 19, 2022

Make no mistake, this “modern verse translation” of Richard II by Naomi Iizuka, commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Play On! project, is Shakespearean to the core. Although it is certainly streamlined and rearranged for clarity, Shakespeare’s poetry survives. The sound and fury of the Bard’s voice is fully present, and you will not detect any distressing anachronisms in the language of this marvelous producdtion.