Even though my Tennant-love waned with MAAN, I would've sincerely liked to have seen this production. Is the Christ-like appearance of the character in the second picture deliberate?
I used it because it was the only one I could find of the two of them together. I know T's Richard has been called "christ-like" by critics, but I think that only stands up in the context of medieval ideas of kingship - that the King was God on Earth and therefore untouchable. There was quite a bit of iconography from the period in the programme making this point, but then it's essential to understanding the play.
I think it is deliberate, but not in the sense of suggesting that Richard is in any sense an innocent being scapegoated; it's playing, as sensiblecat says, with the central question of whether or not the King is de jure "God's deputy" and by definition perfect, right and untouchable.
You could also read the king-as-God iconography as Richard himself quite deliberately bigging himself up in that role. When he is called to appear before Bolingbroke's supporters at Flint Castle, he chooses to do so in a floor-length golden robe and to appear on high on the castle walls, comparing himself as King to the sun(god) appearing before his subjects. So it can be seen as a comment on Richard's vanity and megalomania, too.
Really enjoyed reading this! Like you, I was struck for the first time by the parallels between the roles of Hamlet and Richard, the ultimately-impotent philosopher-princes condemned to wonder what their identity is once the role-playing is stripped away.
ETA: Oh, and also:
Clad head to toe in shimmering raiment, nails laquered to match, sporting hair extensions almost to his waist, he gives off the aura of an ageing, slightly dissolute rock star with his best hits behind him.
YES. What a perfect description. And it gets to the heart of something I'd been trying to articulate about the difference between Whishaw's and Tennant's portrayals, but hadn't managed to put my finger quite on.
It was such a thought-provoking production - the RG and I chewed it over all the way home and into bed, past midnight! Thanks so much again for arranging the tickets for us and coming with us.
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You could also read the king-as-God iconography as Richard himself quite deliberately bigging himself up in that role. When he is called to appear before Bolingbroke's supporters at Flint Castle, he chooses to do so in a floor-length golden robe and to appear on high on the castle walls, comparing himself as King to the sun(god) appearing before his subjects. So it can be seen as a comment on Richard's vanity and megalomania, too.
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ETA: Oh, and also:
Clad head to toe in shimmering raiment, nails laquered to match, sporting hair extensions almost to his waist, he gives off the aura of an ageing, slightly dissolute rock star with his best hits behind him.
YES. What a perfect description. And it gets to the heart of something I'd been trying to articulate about the difference between Whishaw's and Tennant's portrayals, but hadn't managed to put my finger quite on.
It was such a thought-provoking production - the RG and I chewed it over all the way home and into bed, past midnight! Thanks so much again for arranging the tickets for us and coming with us.
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