Richard II

LST concludes its 2025 season with its first venture into Shakespeare’s History plays and first Readers Theatre production. Directed by Shakespeare scholar Dr. Justin Hopkins and performed by a cast of Lancaster Shakespeare royalty, this intimate staging brings to life one of the Bard’s most lyrical and politically charged plays. At its heart is the fall of King Richard II, a monarch whose divine right to rule is challenged by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke. As Richard is deposed and Bolingbroke rises to become Henry IV, Shakespeare weaves a story of power, betrayal, and the fragile nature of kingship. Filled with poetry of rare beauty and insight, Richard II examines what happens when a ruler loses both his crown and his sense of identity.