Photo by Dan Gutherland
The Upstart Crow, Boulder's classical community theatre, will present William Shakespeare's The Life and Death of King Richard the Second as part of its 30th anniversary season. Richard II is one of Shakespeare's lesser-performed history plays, and that's a tragedy (pun intended).
The play is a fascinating, and quite beautiful meditation on the nature of kingship: the duality between the infallible ruler awarded his position by divine right as God's anointed deputy, and the human weakness of a man embroiled in power politics. In Richard's view, there is no separation between church and state, and to resist the rightful ruler, even a bad one, is to challenge God's will.
Are our leaders subject to the same laws as the rest of us? Is a person who is called by God to a particular vocation immune to criticism? These are great questions, and Richard II is a great play because it addresses them.
Performances of Richard II are at the Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder, through March 6. Call 303-442-1415 for information or reservations, or visit www.the upstartcrow.org.
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