This dissertation explores how three productions of Shakespeare’s "Richard II" recreate the Middle Ages, elucidating the complexities of negotiating several layers of past in art.Edmund Kean staged... Show moreThis dissertation explores how three productions of Shakespeare’s "Richard II" recreate the Middle Ages, elucidating the complexities of negotiating several layers of past in art.Edmund Kean staged the deposition of Richard II at Drury Lane in 1815 in the aftermath of Napoléon Bonaparte's deposition and exile from Elba. Napoléon’s deposition is thus mirrored on the Drury Lane stage, and the embodiment of Napoléon by Kean evokes simultaneously a disappointment at the failure of radicalism and a celebration of monarchy over revolution.In 1850 William Charles Macready staged the play at the Haymarket. Contrary to the Romantic appreciation of the character’s pathos, Victorians reassessed Richard II as a morally flawed character. His punishment is thus justified by his disloyalty both to God, who anointed him king, and to his subjects. Macready used Shakespeare to legitimize his project to elevate the status of the theatrical business, using history as a background to represent Shakespeare.Finally, in 1857 at the Princess’s Theatre, Charles Kean combined Victorian antiquarianism and popular extravagant culture to offer instruction and entertainment to the public. Kean uses stage craft and imagination grounded on extensive historical research to offer the spectator an experience of seeing and living the past. Show less
