Some of you may remember that back in November, I went to Stratford Upon Avon with some friends, to see the RSC's production of Richard II. I enjoyed it a lot, and decided that I'd like to see it again, when it was broadcast to cinemas as part of the NTLive programme. I actually booked it on two separate dates, and failed to see it due to illness and house-selling issues, but I finally made it on Wednesday evening (fitting, perhaps, as Wednesday was Shakespeare's 450th Birthday!)I went to Wells, where the cinema is very small, and lives in what used to be a scout hut, but it is very nice for all that, being independently run, with very friendly staff.
I enjoyed the production - seeing the screening meant being able to see more of the staging and scenery (mainly created by projections onto 'curtains' of very fine metal chain)
As with other NTLive productions I've seen, I did have moments of wishing that the damn camera operators would just stay still, look at the stage , and stop zooming in and out.
It's still an excellent production, and I still loved Nigel Lindsay's blunt, pragmatic Henry Bolingbroke, a man pushed to his limited and usurping the king almost out of sheer frustration!
I've booked to see this year's RSC broadcasts of Henry IV (parts I and II) there, too, which I'm looking forward to.
Have I mentioned before what a splendid idea I think the NT Live broadcasts are?
Incidentally, for anyone who hasn't seen it, or who fancies seeing it again, Richard II is now available on DVD from the RSC shop.(and yes, I have ordered mine!)
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