‘Richard II’ marks start of history cycle at S&Co.

LENOX – Shakespeare and Company’s productions of the Bard’s history cycle have started with a bang.

That bang comes in the form of Richard II, featuring a bravura performance by Rocco Sisto as the titular character.

“I’m drawn to the journey man makes; how grace is achieved,” he said of the role.

Mr. Sisto last stole the show as Caliban alongside Olympia Dukakis in S&Co.’s 2012 production of The Tempest.

He is in fine form in Richard II, which also features standout performances by Rachel Leslie (as the Queen and Harry Percy) and Kristin Wold (as the Duchess of York and Ross).

“While combing through the play and meditating on modern day parallels for what I believe to be its inherent seeds of fundamentalism, I was determined to remain faithful to the script’s original intent to expose each character’s humanity and articulated need that drives them forward,” said Richard II director Timothy Douglas.

The strong character work is indeed the driving force behind this production.

The show is currently in a limited run, which comes to an end this Sunday (July 21) at the Tina Packer Playhouse. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the box office (Kemble St.), calling (413) 637-3353 or going online to shakespeare.org.

The history cycle will continue next summer with a production of William Shakespeare’s Henry IV.

“We’ve never tackled the histories as an agenda item for the company, but I really felt that we were ready to take them on,” said S&Co. Artistic Director Tony Simotes.

And ready they are.

Posted by Catherine M. Krummey on July 18, 2013. Filed under Arts and Entertainment,Community News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry