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Forum Fans Go to see Ralph Fiennes as Richard II in London Ralph Fiennes as Richard II
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Tara
Stella, Helen, Tara
Cristina
Articles/Reviews | Reviews pg 2
Fiennes
Forum Fans Go to see Ralph Fiennes as Richard II in London
Fiennes Forum members, Stella, Tara, BiGeorge, Helen, Gigi, and Dollface viewed Richard II, Saturday April 1. I'm hoping to interview them all to get each unique perspective on their experiences. The first interview listed below is with Tara…
fiennesite:
When you saw Rf before the show, what made you leave him alone?
taracatalin: Respect and not wanting to
ruin his concentration taracatalin: this was about 1 hour before the performance
fiennesite: What was he doing
at this point before the performance?
taracatalin: standing at the bar waiting
to be served he got a drink and a slice of almond cake. Helen and I were standing
next to him (unintentionally as we were there first and were waiting to be served
also). WE had serious drink
fiennesite: What was his
presence at this point?
taracatalin: regular, relaxed, not at all
self conscious, at home I guess.
fiennesite: So, how long
did you get to admire the divine one from afar before he left?
taracatalin: about 15 minutes or so 
fiennesite: And how fast
were your hearts pounding? Any druel or dribble?
taracatalin: Saliva glands working overtime.....yes,
but nobody bothered him, it was a dignified affair
fiennesite: What was your
initial impression of the theatre, other than it was really cold?
taracatalin: that there was quite an eerie
Hitchcock-like presence, … what a fabulous place it was to stage such a couple
of plays
fiennesite: Did this contribute
to the atmosphere of the play?
taracatalin: quite authentic considering
in Shakespeare's days it must have been freezing too :o) yes but the cold also
distracted a bit of my attention, it also made me sympathise with the performers
on stage
fiennesite: Where exactly
were your seats, and how was your view of RF?
taracatalin: mine was in row J the others
were in D and F, And it was so close by, very intimate
fiennesite: So, would you
say the theatre has very good views no matter where you sat?
taracatalin: Yes,i t is quite an intimate
experience even from the makeshift stalls. A unique experience, more real I
suppose.
fiennesite: How would you
characterize Ralph's portrayal of Richard II?
taracatalin: Well the transformation of
"filmscreen" to stageperformer suits him to a glove. I would say Ralph really
comes across as being much more a stage performer. Rich II at first
is quite a pedantic, egotistical immature character. There are some hilarious
scenes with Richard sucking his thumb abd even sticking his tongue out to one
of his uncles. It looks very childlike , very natural. Then after all his naivete
and misplaced grandeur while being a king the transformation to the "nameless"
wretch and philosopher in prison is so fabulous.
fiennesite: You guys mentioned
that at one point RF almost cracked up. What caused it?
taracatalin: That wasn't us....HONEST, there
was an inside joke from one of his fellow actors, and Ralph had to look back
to compose himself.
fiennesite: How long was
the play?
taracatalin: according to the program it
lasts 2 hours and 45 minutes
fiennesite: So, like any
good interviewer, I'd like to take a moment to offer you a beverage, a break,
do you need the loo?
taracatalin: oh yes, the loo and have fresh
tea please
fiennesite: and some almond cake ala RF:-)
(Tara and I get cut off because of network issues. The interview continues with Stella, Helen, and Tara filling in the details.)
fiennesite:So, what was it
like to be up close and personal with the divine one?
Stella:
wonderful
Helen:
He was better than I could wish for.
Stella: We taught Helen all the subtle ways
to stare...
Helen: physically he looks more delicate
than on screen..
fiennesite:Describe
what you feel when you're that close to the person you admire, tongue tied?
Sweaty Palms?
Stella: I just go gaga. Unable to function.
Helen: I clammed up, didn't know what to
say. I have never seen someone who has such presence.
Stella: He was with Jonathan Kent, the director.
Helen: He even looked great in track pants
(sweats!)
fiennesite: What
do you think of his work on stage vs. screen?
Helen: I prefer the stage. He looked at
home. Really communicated with the other actors and the audience.
Stella: It shows what a great actor he is.
His classical training shines through.
Tara: He was delicious!
fiennesite: Why was
this story a good fit for RF?
Helen: He portrayed the perfect mixture
of naivete, vulnerability, and strength. He captured these emotions perfectly.
Stella: And the realization of his actions.
(ASIDE: Dollface mentioned that Francesca Annis was at the evening performance, "guarding" him...Apparently there was also a mysterious blond woman also acting as a guard earlier..shall we say proprietary attitude)
fiennesite: So, girls,
what about after the show. How did you go about finding RF and getting autographs
etc?
Tara: Well, it was really an accident. We
just turned around and he was there. He was guarded by the blonde woman.
fiennesite: How did
you decide to approach him?
Tara: Helen got the evil eye of the guard.
Stella: We just hoovered with pen and paper.
Helen: I just asked him, could you sign
this for me please?
Tara:
The blonde guard tried to steer him away, but she was no match for me...I asked
him "Would you please sign this for my friend who is very pregnant and
could not come, her name is Mary (THANKS TARA!!), and then I added that he must
have been cold since the theatre was freezing! He replied, "the whole cast
was freezing!"
fiennesite: How did
he appear in person? Did he look older?
Stella: No.
Tara:
Noooooo. He's getting more and more scrumptious.
Helen: No, younger actually.
Stella: Such fine features.
Tara: He has become less self conscious
(since she saw him after Hamlet performance...)
fiennesite: Is he
better off in the flesh, or not? (suggested by Helen)
Tara: I think he is much better in person,
because then you are much more aware of his aura.
Stella: The eyes are stunning in person.
fiennesite: How would
you all rate the performance as a whole, not just RF, but as a play?
Helen: What play?
Tara: Well there were a few bumpy spots,
but overall, the actors worked well together.
Stella: I give it an 11 out of ten, a 20
for the sets and lighting.
Tara: The actors playing the uncles were
fabulous. And did we mention Linus Roache...OK, for Helen's benefit we can have
another divine moment of silence for Linus. The scenes with Linus and RF were
magnetic.
fiennesite: So for
other fans wishing to see RF after performance, were there any obvious places
to wait?
Stella: Apparently in the back left of the
building near the car park, there is an exit.
Helen: It's easy to miss him, he sort of
blends in. We were lucky to see him in front twice!
fiennesite: Well, you guys were wonderful, lucky and respectful. The forum couldn't have asked for better ambassardors. I hope that other fans have as terrific experiences as you had.
Here is my report about Ralph in Richard II. Me and my friend Alexandra went to see Ralph Fiennes as Richard II in London Saturday April 1 (evening peformance). I will use some of the words of Tara and the others because my english is not that good.
fiennesite: When you saw Rf before the show, what made you leave him alone?
Cristina: We didn´t saw him after the performance. We arrived there very, very Early and we were recieved by another actor. He was very nice and told us that we were early. We replied that the day before (to get the tickets)we walked miles to find the place and we had no luck. Nobody seams to know the place. He gave us some literature about the Almeida Theatre and came with us to the bar. In the bar we saw the black and white pictures of the actors and we pointed out Ralph´s. He told to a guy of the satff that we were lost and that we must be fans of HIM.
fiennesite: What was he doing at this point before the performance?
Cristina: Like I told before, we didn´t saw him.
fiennesite: What was your initial impression of the theatre, other than it was really cold?
Cristina: Is a fabulous place!!!! Real grass on stage, real breeks walls and it reminded me "Shakespeare in Love" because of the 4-5 levels of seats.
fiennesite: Did this contribute to the atmosphere of the play?
Cristina: yes, I had the impression that I was in a real castle in Shakespeare days
fiennesite: Where exactly were your seats, and how was your view of RF?
Cristina: Mine was in row B 9 and Alexandra in B 23. I was REALLY close to the stage.I could see his eyes and everything else just there.In row B was his father (I think it was him...). Very nice man...
fiennesite: So, would you say the theatre has very good views no matter where you sat?
Cristina: Yes,it is quite an intimate experience, very real.
fiennesite: How would you characterize Ralph's portrayal of Richard II?
Cristina: tara is right, the transformation of "filmscreen" to stageperformer Suits him to a glove. I would say Ralph really comes across as being much more a stage performer. Rich II at first is quite a pedantic,egotistical immature character. There are some hilarious scenes with Richard sucking his thumb and even sticking his tongue out to one of his uncles. It looks very childlike, very natural. Then after all his naivete and misplaced grandeur while being a king the transformation to the "nameless" wretch and philosopher in prison is so fabulous.
fiennesite: How long was the play?
Cristina: 3 hours with a break of 15 minutes.
fiennesite:So, what was it like to be up close and personal with the divine one?
Cristina: No comments....it was UNIQUE!!!!!! Phically speaking, he looks like more to Oscar (Oscar and Lucinda) than to Bendrix... I told Alexandra that I woul call him KING RALPH I, THE GREAT ONE.
fiennesite: Describe what you feel when you're that close to the person you admire, tongue tied? SweatyPalms?
Cristina: Unable to function, I didn't know what to say. When he appears seating In his king chair with the lights on his face was amazing.
fiennesite: What do you think of his work on stage vs.screen?
Cristina: I prefer the stage. He looked at home. It shows what a great actor he is.
fiennesite: Why was this story a good fit for RF?
Cristina: Lots of diferent emotions, he portrayed the perfect mixture of naivete,vulnerability, and strength and he captured these emotions perfectly. *****During the applause in the end of the play he was "another" person. That really IMPRESSED ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! During the play he was at home and After (recieving the applause from the audience) he was soooooo shy. He Hardly could look at people in the eyes. That reminded me those interviews that I read and the comments about being shy, reserved personality. But when they were running to back stage he was trying to gave Linus Roach the crown and Linus didn´t wanted it, so Ralph´s insisted and they begun to laugh...so cute those two..*********
fiennesite: So, girls, what about after the show. How did you go about finding RF and getting autographs etc?
Cristina: We didn´t stay ... I don´t think that I could even talked to him...we Saw his car (balck BMW or Mercedes, I can´t remember...)and his driver in The parking.
fiennesite: How did he appear in person? Did he look older?
Cristina: No.He looks very young. I will believe if someone told me that he is 30...
fiennesite: How would you all rate the performance as a whole, not just RF, but as a play?
Cristina: Excelent all of them, specially Linus..
fiennesite: So for other fans wishing to see RF after performance, were there any obvious places to wait?
Cristina: Maybe in the bar or the parking. I Think it is the only exit. And his car was there..
Cristina (from Portugal)
This Is London:
3/23/00
Ralph will make a rich Richard
Richard II
Dir: Jonathan Kent.Ralph Fiennes
Where it's playing
by Linus Roache
If you decide to do Richard II and Coriolanus, and you're playing Bolingbroke and Aufidius, you want to be opposite someone who is really quite amazing. Ralph Fiennes is. He is so focused and fantastic to be on stage with. And when I look around there are some real heavyweights involved - such as Oliver Ford Davies (Duke Of York/Menenius), Barbara Jefford (Duchess Of York/Volumnia), David Burke (John Of Gaunt/Cominius), and great newcomers too.
I played Richard II in '93 at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, and once before at the RSC. Ralph was working at the RSC too, and we used to talk about Richard a lot. It is a play that fascinates me, because it is a play about power - as well as a personal journey. To me it is not so much a political play - it's about a spiritual journey for a man. You see Richard go from having everything to nothing, then watch someone else rise up - but when they get power they start to decay.
Coriolanus I don't know at all. Never seen it, or read it. The two plays may talk about some of the same issues, but the drive of the two plays is entirely different.
The Almeida has decided to hold the event at the former Gainsborough Film Studios. When I first went there with director Jonathan Kent I realised how wild and ambitious the project is. Hitchcock shot many of his early films there, and Shakespeare began acting and writing only half a mile away. The building is like an empty cathedral. It's not like going to a theatre you have visited 100 times before Ð you are making a special journey to this extraordinary building. Hopefully the shows will live up to expectations.
Coriolanus, previewing from Thur 1 Jun, opens Wed 14 Jun, Gainsborough Studios, Poole Street, N1 (020-7359 4404). Now Playing The Almeida at Gainsborough Studios From Mar 30, Mon-Fri 7.30pm, Sat, 7.45pm, mats Sat 7.45pm, ends Jul 22 £3.50-£30
This is London: 3/22/00
Battle of the Richards Richard
II
Dir: Steven Pimlott.Samuel West, Alfred Burke, Adam Levy
Rating:
Where it's playing
by Alison Roberts
It's the old waiting-for-abus syndrome. Five years you wait. Five years! And
then what? Not one, but two Richard IIs come along at the same time.
First comes Sam West's version for the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by
Steven Pimlott. And then Ralph Fiennes chugs in, courtesy of the Almeida Theatre,
directed by Jonathan Kent. Fiennes returns to the East End (he played Hamlet
at the Hackney Empire in 1995), taking the title roles in Richard II and Coriolanus
at the newly refurbished Gainsborough Studios in Shoreditch, where Hitchcock
shot The Lady Vanishes; as soon as he moves out, they'll be replaced by a nice,
tidy block of flats).
The uncharitable are calling it the Battle of the Dicks, though both actors
have apparently exchanged kind words and good luck cards already. Pimlott thinks
the two productions will invite critical comparison, but is convinced it's not
a title fight.
"There's room for a thousand productions," he says, wildly. "The play is so
rich. Each version is through the perspective of those performing it." West
will apparently play Richard as a king miscast, a man upon whom power rests
uneasily. The RSC version starts at The Other Place in Stratford, an intimate
space which, according to Pimlott, allows the company to perform Richard II
"in camera".
By contrast, Fiennes will be a harder king, a flawed but strident character - reflective, but not a wuss. And the Gainsborough Studios, refitted at a cost of £700,000, provide a much bigger stage for him to stalk. Both actors have bags of Shakespearean experience (Fiennes was a member of the RSC for two years) and both, as Ken Branagh has said, have the cheekbones for the part.
Fiennes is no doubt the bigger star, with the broader ranging film CV: part matinée idol (The English Patient), part character actor (Quiz Show/ The End of the Affair), part Hollywood darling (Schindler's List, for which he won an Oscar nomination in 1997). From which we might concoct a Richard II - romantic hero with a dastardly streak, in love with his French queen, and a fine warrior off to Ireland to do his worst.
Sam West, meanwhile, has been cursed or blessed with a Merchant Ivory sort of reputation, from Arcadia and The Importance of Being Earnest on stage to Howards End, Persuasion and Carrington on-screen. His Richard will surely under-stand the problems that occur when human feelings interfere with ruthless politics. Richard-with-a-heart, perhaps. A man corrupted by his own weakness as much as absolute power.
But why have two wholly independent theatrical companies decided to stage this relatively obscure history play now? It's not as though Richard II is your average piece of popular Shakespeare. It is, in fact, the most intensely lyrical of the plays, written entirely in verse and almost entirely in 10-syllable lines. There aren't even any fights (there are plenty of potential fights, but Shakespeare continually halts the action before it's begun). There's little comedy, saving a kind of deep English irony, and not much love interest.
Pimlott agrees that the continual frustration of action "starts to hurt the brain eventually". But he's convinced Richard II, the last English king to rule by direct, undisputed succession from William the Conqueror, speaks directly to today's identity-crisis-ridden times.
"It seems to me that there are so many insecurities as to what England should be at the moment," he says. "Europe, devolution of power, the national question of how we should govern ourselves. These are issues the play addresses and they've never seemed so charged as they do now."
Of course, it's also a play about the usurpation of power, the fall of a self-righteous king and the political struggle which follows - a banished rebel (Bolingbroke) returns to reclaim the throne from a too-complacent ruler. Should Ken Livingstone be taking notes?
"It's not a ridiculous proposition," says Pimlott. "the play shows humanity as a problem in politics, it infers that, in order to be a good politician, you need to be a Machiavelli."
Most of the senior (male) acting establishment have tackled Richard. Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi were notable, but John Gielgud's performance set a benchmark for the role, and for verse-speaking in general.
"It's very, very carefully written. It's a coded play, and its lyricism is one of those codes," says Pimlott. "All the rules about verse-speaking are valuable, but the only way any actor can do it is to find the rhythm inwardly."
Five years ago, the last big production saw Fiona Shaw take on the role, an intriguing exercise since part of the play's point is that kingship exists separate from humanity, whether male or female.
Sam or Ralph, then? My guess is the productions will be so different, they'll simply highlight the play's ambiguity. Not a title fight, then, but a small skirmish between friends.
• Richard II at The Other Place, Stratford, opens 29 March (01789 403403) • Richard II at Gainsborough Studios, Shoreditch, opens 12 April (020 7359 4404)
12/14/99
Ralph prepares for gladiators
by Robin Stringer
Paying their first visit to the old Gainsborough Studios in Shoreditch, where they will soon confront each other in Richard II and Coriolanus, are two of Britain's finest young actors, Ralph Fiennes and Linus Roache.
They are the protagonists in the Almeida Theatre's most ambitious undertaking to date. It will cost more than £1 million and involves the transformation of the old film studio into a 750-seat auditorium.
"It is a place full of extraordinary resonances," says director Jonathan Kent, who four years ago took Fiennes' Hamlet to Hackney Empire with such success that it transferred to Broadway. "The studios are where Alfred Hitchcock directed and James Mason acted, and the two theatres where Shakespeare began to act and write more than 400 years ago were just down the road. "Then there is the excitement of creating within them a new space dedicated to these two plays.
" At the heart of both works are gladiatorial confrontations, on the one hand between Richard and the usurping Bolingbroke and on the other between Coriolanus and his enemy-turned-ally Tullus Aufidius. "Both plays are about men in the shadow of another," continues Kent, "which is why it is so important to have a balanced cast."
Hence his delight at having secured Roache, Helena Bonham Carter's lover in The Wings Of The Dove, to play opposite Fiennes as well as a very strong cast for both plays that includes Oliver Ford Davies, Barbara Jefford and David Burke.
Work on the project will start in earnest in February and lead to the opening of Richard II in April and Coriolanus in June. Both plays will then play in repertory until 22 July. The performances will mark the end of the old Gainsborough Studios. They are due to be knocked down immediately afterwards for redevelopment.
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