Theatre
Respect the cunt and tame the cock: Shakespeare’s „Richard II“ reimagined by Anne Simon at TNL
After adapting David Greig’s „Midsummer“, Anne Simon continues deconstructing Shakespeare in her queer, feminist, intertextual and multilingual take on „Richard II“. Even though there’s plenty of great ideas, one feels sometimes lost in Simon’s funhouse.
Philippe Thelen plays a lost, insecure take on King Richard in a comical, convincing way (C) Bohumil Kostohryz
It all begins with Anthime Miller singing Divine’s „You Think You’re A Man But You’re Only A Boy“, accompanying himself on his cello, picking its strings delicately before tapping the distortion pedal, giving the song an angrier edge. Towards the end of Miller’s reinterpretation, Larisa Faber, who starred in Simon’s adaptation of David Greig’s „Midsummer“, is frantically crossing the stage, looking for King Richard. The ruler seems to be hiding, shying away from carrying out his royal duties – the word „coward” will be uttered on several occasions, a barely conceiled comment on Europe’s ambiguous and reluctant stance towards Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine.
