VenueCourtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon & The Roundhouse, London
CompanyRoyal Shakespeare Company
Richard II
King Richard IIJonathan Slinger
Henry BolingbrokeClive Wood
Edmund of Langley, Duke of YorkRichard Cordery
Duke of GloucesterChukwudi Iwuji
Thomas MowbrayJohn Mackay
Henry Percy, Earl of NorthumberlandKeith Bartlett
Harry Percy (Hotspur)Lex Shrapnel
Queen IsabelHannah Barrie
Richard III
Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III)Jonathan Slinger
Duke of BuckinghamRichard Cordery
King Edward IVForbes Masson
Queen MargaretKaty Stephens
Queen ElizabethAnn Ogbomo
Lady AnneHannah Barrie
Earl of RichmondLex Shrapnel
George, Duke of ClarenceJames Tucker
Creative Team
DirectorMichael Boyd
Production & Set DesignTom Piper
MusicJohn Woolf & James Jones
In Michael Boyd's monumental 2006-2008 Royal Shakespeare Company Histories cycle, Jonathan bookended the Wars of the Roses by stepping into the disparate yet deeply intertwined roles of Richard II and Richard III. Approaching both monarchs through a shared lens of psychological vulnerability and the isolating rot of absolute power, he stripped away traditional caricatures to reveal two profoundly fractured men. Whether capturing the fragile, poetic self-destruction of a divine-right king or the venomous, darkly comic ambition of a ruthless usurper, Jonathan's unified performance illuminated the tragic symmetry of two rulers ultimately devoured by the very crown they wore.
I played the title roles in RICHARD II and RICHARD III by William Shakespeare for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2006-8. These were productions directed by Michael Boyd which were the first and last plays of the Histories cycle, eight plays spanning the history of the Wars of the Roses, done in their entirety by one company. I was incredibly fortunate to bookend the cycle with these extraordinary roles as it was an unusual opportunity to explore enormous range as these characters are almost diametrically opposed. Richard II is a vain aesthete, glamorous and shallow, Richard III a self-loathing psychopath with real physical deformity, as he describes it. I was able to explore these opposites, vocally, physically and psychologically in extremely satisfying ways, using some of the greatest language ever written. I can use my experiences to help you with similarly rich and complex acting challenges. I have also developed a five point approach to Shakespeare which will help to remove the fear that so many actors feel when tackling the world’s greatest playwright.
