Richard II (Morrison, 2012)

RICHARD II

Performed in Palestinian Arabic by the Ashtar Theatre.
(with scene description in English)

THE COMPANY

The Ashtar Theatre was established in Jerusalem in 1991 by Palestinian actors Edward Muallem and Iman Aoun. They tour the more remote areas of the Palestinian territories to serve audiences unable to reach Ashtar’s main base in Ramallah.

THE PLAY

As Bolingbroke accuses Mowbray of treason and murder, and the two men prepare to fight a duel, King Richard intervenes and banishes them both from England. Already unpopular with his lords the monarch angers his supporters further by selling land to fund the disastrous war in Ireland. With the help of those alienated from Richard’s support, Bolingbroke returns to England with an army to seize the throne from the unpopular king in this modern day adaptation of the work.

PRINCIPAL CAST AND CREDITS

King Richard II: Sami Metwasi
Duke of Gloucester/Duke of York: George Ibrahim
John of Gaunt: Hussein Nakhleh
Northumberland: Edward Muallem
Henry Bolingbroke: Nicola Zreineh
Queen: Bayan Shbib

Director: Conall Morrison
Designer: Rajha Shakiry
Text editor: Gassan Zaqtan

Interview with theatre director Iman Aoun about Richard II.

Here are some reviews:
The Guardian, “Richard II – Review” by Lyn Gardner, 6 May 2012 – http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/may/06/richard-ii-ashtar-ramallah-review
The Arts Desk, “Globe to Globe: Richard II, Shakespeare’s Globe” by Fisun Güner, 6 May 2012 – http://www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/globe-globe-richard-ii-shakespeares-globe
Blogging Shakespeare, “Year of Shakespeare: Richard II” by Erin Sullivan, 7 May 2012 – http://bloggingshakespeare.com/year-of-shakespeare-richard-ii
Shakespeare in the Arab World, “Three days, three plays: on allegory” by Margaret Litvin, 5 May 2012 – http://arabshakespeare.blogspot.com/2012/05/three-days-three-plays-on-allegory.html
Cafe Palestine UK, “Richard II – Palestinian Shakespeare comes to the Globe,” 6 May 2012 – http://cafepalestineuk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/richard-ii-palestinian-shakespeare.html
+972 Magazine, “A Palestinian king in London: On Ashtar’s ‘Richard II’” by Yuval Ben-Ami, 27 May, 2012 – http://972mag.com/a-palestinian-king-in-london-on-ashtars-richard-ii/46913/
Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods, “TRIUMPHANT PALESTINIAN RICHARD II AT SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE,” 6 May, 2012 – http://jews4big.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/triumphant-palestinian-richard-ii-at-shakespeares-globe/