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Richard II

After his exile of Henry Bolingbroke, Richard II seizes noble land and uses the money to fund wars in Ireland. But when Henry returns to England to reclaim his land, he gathers an army of those who oppose Richard. Only one can take the throne.

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Play On Shakespeare > History > Richard II

At a Glance

War • English Royalty • Family • Politics

Artists

Playwright

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Naomi Iizuka

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Dramaturg

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Joy Meads

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Productions, Readings & Workshops

Richard II

August 21 – September 8, 2024 | Magic Theatre | Production | San Francisco, CA, USA
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Henriad Plays Reading

April 20 – 30, 2023 | Shakespeare Dallas | Readings | Dallas, TX, USA
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Richard II

April 16 – 24, 2022 | African-American Shakespeare Company | Production | San Francisco, CA, USA
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Richard II

University of Evansville | Reading | March 26 & 27, 2021 | Online
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Richard II

July 25 – 27, 2019 | Prague Shakespeare Company | Production | Prague, CZ
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Paperback & eBooks

Richard II

By William Shakespeare
Translation by Naomi Iizuka

Shakespeare’s history play reimagined by Naomi Iizuka.​

Following the events of the final two years of his life, Richard II interrogates royal power and the forces that threaten it. After banishing his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Richard begins to lose grip of his throne and strives to find meaning in the churn and chaos of the events unfolding around him. In her new translation, Naomi Iizuka ventures into the mystery of the work, scraping away the layers of received wisdom and cracking the play open for contemporary audiences.

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Production History

May 27. 2019

Play On! Festival NYC

Rehearsal and Staged Reading directed by Jennifer Chang with full cast as part of the Play On! Translation Festival in NYC.

Produced by:
Play On! / Classic Stage / Oregon Shakespeare Festival

June 4, 2019

FIRST READS: An Online Educational Series

A livestreamed exploration of Richard II featuring actors from across the country under the direction of Jennifer Chang.

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