Review: Richard II, The Libra Theatre Café

Richard II is one of Shakespeare’s histories, recently seen at the Bridge Theatre, telling the fall from grace of King Richard II and the rise of Henry IV. Whole Pack Theatre Productions bring a shortened version of the play, cut from around two and a half hours to just over one, performed fully by women, to the 2025 Camden Fringe. 

Richard II is not the most exciting of Shakespeare’s histories, as it is more focused on the mental decay of a king rather than on the battles he fought. Following that train of thought closely, this production has cut out most of the elements that don’t directly revolve around Richard’s fall from grace. It sounds sacrilegious to any Shakespeare fan, but it doesn’t affect the play as much as you may fear. 

Starting with Richard already imprisoned, the play goes over most of its events as if it were Richard reminiscing about where he went wrong, finishing with him publicly renouncing his crown. After that, the play goes back to the cell, and Richard is murdered. By taking out the political plots of the Yorks and the eventual focus on Bolingbroke, the play concentrates fully on Richard’s psychology, presenting a perfectly compact and solid narrative. I do have to raise a concern when it comes to the very end, as, unlike fuller versions, it is left unclear who deals the fatal blow. 

The Libra Theatre Café offers a small stage that the Whole Pack Theatre has smartly used to create an ambience of intimacy, one that highlights the mental and psychological machinations that move this play forward. With few props, all initially presented as part of Richard’s cell, the actors on stage move the objects around to simulate different places.

All the characters, barring Richard, wear white outfits and coloured sashes, worn in different manners to signify different characters. This staging lends credit to the idea that it is all happening in Richard’s head, making the intimate aspect of this production stand out. The five women on stage take on the challenge of reciting iconic lines that have, previously, mostly been performed by men. They do so without challenging the text much, but by simply interpreting the characters as they are.

Jessamy James’ Richard tends towards the neurotic rather than the megalomaniac, with a certain vulnerability that moved the audience into awed silence when saying “Ay, no. No, ay”. It’s a performance that is in accordance with the more intimate version of the play, one that betrays how Richard probably thought of himself. Kira Morsley beautifully delivers Old Gaunt’s Act 2 speech, while Meghan Louise Taylor’s York leans into the flimsiness of his posturing. Catriona Trainer’s Aumerle is the perfect yes-man to Richard, with a performance that makes her stand as tall as the rest of the cast. Lydia Shaw’s Bolingbroke rounds up the cast with an interesting take on the character, one that reveals a deeper yearning for power and the crown that she seems willing to kill for.

While performing a relatively straight version of Shakespeare’s history play, the cast poses the idea that women are just as capable as men of performing these iconic roles, and their production of Richard II proves them right.

Writer: William Shakespeare
Director: Jessamy James
Producers: The Whole Pack Theatre Company
Assistant & Musical Director: Meghan Louise Taylor
Stage Manager: Mary Anne Coleman

Richard II plays at The Libra Cafe as part of the Camden Fringe until Thursday August 21