reading Richard II

In our Zoom reading session of the first two acts of Shakespeare's Richard II, I was cast primarily as John of Gaunt. Gaunt's first line is "I have, my liege," and since Shakespearean puffery has become our default mode of expressing medieval & Renaissance language, I immediately thought of Sir Bedevere in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and modeled my portrayal of Gaunt rather on that voice.

Until, that is, I got to his deathbed scene in Act 2, Scene 1, where he sounded better hoarse and nearly breathless. He takes 12 lines to say that a dying man is likely to speak directly to the point since he doesn't have much time left to say anything. And then he does go on, and on, and on, delivering among much else the famous patriotic "This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle" speech.

But he is blunt about it, dressing down his wayward nephew King Richard with such ferocity that Richard threatens to execute him, but that's not a very effective threat towards a man on his deathbed, so Richard is left to stew in frustration.

I also got to read the part of the Lord Marshal in the tournament scene (Act 1, Scene 3). The Lord Marshal's principal job is to formally depose the contestants as to their identities and purposes. To Bolingbroke he addresses himself, "What is thy name? and wherefore comest thou hither?"

And if that doesn't send your mind back to Holy Grail and the Keeper of the Bridge of Death, you just haven't been paying attention. So that suggested a reading of this part ... I've been spoiled, I tell you, just spoiled.