Bard on the Beach presents the Shakespeare History Cycle
Beginning with this summer's production of Richard II, opening Saturday, July 11 2009, Bard on the Beach will present the 8 plays of Shakespeare's history cycle that deal with the political intrigues and civil wars that occurred as the various descendants of Edward III fought to take and hold the crown of England. Over the next two seasons, we will be able to follow the story of the convoluted passage of the crown of England back and forth between the houses of York and Lancaster through seven different kings (Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Richard III, Henry VII). The Douglas Campbell Studio Theatre will be the setting for the 2010 production of Falstaff (a conflation of Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2) and Henry V. In 2011, we will see The War of The Roses (a conflation of the three parts of Henry VI) and Richard III.
The story begins with Richard II who, at the age of ten, inherited the throne from his grandfather, Edward III, because his father, Edward The Black Prince, had died a year earlier. His political instincts blunted by his youthful reign under the guidance of various advisors, by the time he takes control for himself, he makes many misguided decisions. Richard II ends with Richard dead, and his cousin Bolingbroke as Henry IV of England.
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