Richard II Begins Previews Tonight!
Kevin, February 10th, 2025If you're anything like us, you're bonkers for Bailey
The viscount-turned-Shiz-student-turned-Monarch just won't stop on his meteoric rise to fame. The Olivier Award-winning actor had his breakout role as Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton and delivered a stunning turn on stage in Company. His appearance as Fiyero in Wicked - the highest-grossing movie musical of all time - has him dancing through the lives of audiences globally, so why not catch him on stage while you can?
Bailey At The Bridge
Jonathan Bailey returns to the stage in Nick Hytner's newest production for The Bridge Theatre. Bailey will star as the titular monarch in Richard II, the first of Shakespeare's tetralogy of plays about the wars of succession during the Middle Ages, otherwise known as the 'Henriad'.
What Is The Story of Richard II?
Richard II is portrayed as a capricious and vain monarch, convinced of his divinity, but failing to see the danger and precarious nature of his claim to the throne. Exiling all those who he sees as a threat, the banishment of Henry Bolingbroke would prove to be his undoing. Accusing the Duke of Norfolk of seizing his lands and plotting to murder his uncle the Duke of Gloucester, Henry leaves for exile abroad, promising to return for his rightful inheritance, with an army to support him. When Richard is distracted by a rebellion in Ireland, Bolingbroke returns quietly to England, intent on recovering his rightful property, and instigates an uprising against the incompetent king, much to the glee of his peers.
