In Edward II, Kyle Soller who plays Gaveston comes back from the dead in the role of the assassin paid to kill Edward. The murderers: In both productions, the lovers become the executioners (albeit in different ways) and intriguingly, in both cases, this is a directorial choice not dictated by the text. The tender kiss they share at the Flint castle thaws our resistance and open Richard up to a humanity that was hard to see before. Shakespeare makes no attempts in that direction, but the RSC production gives Richard a lover in the form of the Duke of Aumerle (played by Oliver Rix). The lovers: Marlowe is fearless in presenting a relationship between Edward and Gaveston that can be nothing but physical. Richard is not easy to like, and in David Tennant’s performance he never quite surrenders that last scrap of regal entitlement, but there is hope in a man who looks at his downfall in the same uncompromising way he reigned supreme. It’s the trojan horse that opens the door to his salvation. His divine right to rule is his default understanding of himself, but at the same time there is an ever present – if well hidden – hollowness to his conviction. It makes him vulnerable, often weak, but opens the soul and makes it easy to be on his side. Edward, as played by John Heffernan, is the rebel barefoot king, defined by his need to love and be loved. My observations relate to these particular productions as seen through my eyes.Įdward and Richard: One would be hard pressed to describe either as good rulers (at least at the time we meet them), but similarities stop there. Also I am not a scholar and my understanding of the text comes almost exclusively from performance. Spoiler warning and context: I normally try to avoid spoilers but this is a different kind of post, with plenty of spoilers for the plays and the two aforementioned productions. If you so wish, you can read my (mostly) non spoilery reviews for Richard II and Edward II. Even more so now that I have seen the productions and they are both in my “I am so in love I want to talk about them all the time” list. The stories of two kings forced to abdicate the throne on the way to a violent death, the similarities between the plays make comparing and contrasting tempting. Photo Johan Perssonįrom announcement it seemed great timing that Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II and Shakespeare’s Richard II were going to be performed so close together, at the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company respectively.

John Heffernan as Edward, Kyle Soller as Gaveston.

Edward ii play