Richard II Returns for Second Reign
Shakespeare’s “King Richard II” will rule once again. The award-winning play, co-produced by Westmont College Repertory Theatre and Lit Moon Theatre Company, returns for three shows at Santa Barbara Trinity Episcopal Church, Monday, July 31, through Wednesday, Aug. 2, at 8 p.m.
The production, which played at Trinity last November to rave reviews and sold-out audiences, will participate in the Shakespearean Festival in Gdansk, Poland, Aug. 6-13. “Richard II” is part of a yearlong focus on international approaches to the production of Shakespeare that will culminate in the Lit Moon World Shakespeare Festival in October in Santa Barbara.
Last May, “Richard II” was honored more than any other production during the 2005-2006 season in Santa Barbara at the 14th annual Independent Theater Awards. The play won four Indys, including direction by John Blondell and performance by Mitchell Thomas. James Connolly won an award for his original music, and New York-based designer Yevgenia Nayberg won an Indy for scenic design.
Blondell says audiences who saw the play during its initial run last November may notice some small changes.
“That’s one of the great things about working on the play-within-a-play for a long time,” he says. “You’re constantly seeing new things in it, and you can continue to make it better.”
Blondell says so much of American theater is built on a relatively short-run format. He says many European theaters retain plays in their repertoire for several years.
“The artists have an opportunity to live with them for a long period,” he says. “If you’re working on Shakespeare or any classic, the material is great enough that it can continue to work on you. What happens in the unfolding of time and culture gives you different ideas for how to express the play. It makes it more like life.”
The local theater company will be the lone U.S. representative at the Gdansk festival, which will include companies from Poland, Russia, Germany, Italy, Romania, England and Iceland. “Richard II” will be performed in Gdansk’s St. John’s Church, a mid-15th century cathedral.
At Trinity, Blondell will lead a pre-performance discussion at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors. For reservations or more information, please call Karna Humbert in the theater arts department at (805) 565-6040.