Backstage photos released for RICHARD II at the Bridge Theatre

Shehrazade Zafar-Arif 18 April, 2025, 13:10

London Theatre Company have released behind the scenes photos from Richard II, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Jonathan Bailey.

Jonathan Bailey in RICHARD II at the Bridge Theatre. Photo by Craig Sugden

Shakespeare’s powerful, tragic history play follows King Richard II, a charismatic man but an incompetent king, beset by would-be usurpers who are torn between loyalty to the divine right of kingship and loyalty to the country suffering under his rule. Leading the rebellion is Richard’s greatest enemy and polar opposite, the pragmatic, bull-headed Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV.

Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Wicked) stars as Richard II, with Royce Pierreson (The Witcher, Judy) as Henry Bolingbroke. Nicholas Hytner (Young Marx, Julius Caesar) directs.

Richard II opened to wide-spread praise. The Standard called it "a clean, clear, martial staging from Nicholas Hytner that feels right for our times". The Guardian praised Bailey's performance, noting that he "exudes charisma as a cocaine-snorting king of misrule”.

In the backstage images released, Bailey, who won acclaim playing rakish, swoon-worthy heroes like Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton and Prince Fiyero in Wicked, looks debonair but forlorn as the tormented king who falls from grace. Bob Crowley's (Straight Line Crazy, An American in Paris) set design relocates the play to modern day, and King Richard in modern dress looks like a cross between a haughty, hedonistic aristocrat and a flailing British politician.

Richard II is currently playing at the Bridge Theatre until 10th May.

Jonathan Bailey in RICHARD II at the Bridge Theatre. Photo by Craig Sugden