Websites
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The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, has some awesome resources on Richard II.
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Left your copy of the play in your locker? No sweat – you can read it online, compliments of MIT. (Just know that there aren't any helpful footnotes or editors' comments.)
Historical Information
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Having a tough time keeping track of who's who in Shakespeare's history plays? This genealogical chart of Edward III's descendents is super handy.
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Britannia's article on the historical Richard II.
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We love the BBC's British History website. Check out what they have to say about the Middle Ages, and be sure to check out the articles on "Richard II: Disease, Rebellion, and Conflict."
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Luminarium's got the 411 on all the historical figures that appear as characters in the play. Here's their page on John of Gaunt.
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One of the most important sources for Shakespeare's history plays, the Abraham Fleming edition of Holinshed's Chronicles is available online.
Movie or Tv Productions
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Long before Sir Ian McKellen played Gandalf in <em>Lord of the Rings</em>, he was kind of a hottie as "Richard II" in this 1971 BBC production.
Movie or TV Productions
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A 1997 production of Richard II starring a woman, Fiona Shaw, as King Richard II. This production has plenty of haters, but we think Shaw's performance is pretty genius.
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Got time for a Shakespeare marathon? The English Shakespeare Company performs all the history plays (including Richard II) in a series called The Wars of the Roses.
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This is the one your teacher is likely to show in class. It's over 30 years old, but Jacobi is awesome as a diva king. This is part of the BBC's The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare collection, so you can probably find it in your local library.
Video
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Watch the first part of Act 1, Scene 1 on YouTube. Jacobi plays Richard II as an oddball diva, and Henry Bolingbroke's hairdo is kind of awesome in that late 1970s, it's cool to wear a powder blue tuxedo to the prom kind of way.
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From the 1978 performance, here's John Gielgud's famous delivery of John of Gaunt's ode to England. It sort of makes us want to pack a bag and catch the next flight.
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This is part of a production that produced a seven-play version of the Wars of the Roses.
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Check out "Shakespeare's Richard II: Casting a King" on YouTube. This clip features some cool discussion of Fiona Shaw's performance as Richard II (1997) and how it stacks up to performances by Ian McKellen (1970) and Derek Jacobi (1978).
Audio
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Listen to a podcast about how and why Shakespeare's plays are always getting adapted into teen flicks, compliments of Shakespeare in American Life.
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Listen to the play for free.
Images
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If you wondering what the tournament arena from Act 1, Scene 3 might look like, check out this image of a medieval combat arena. Can't you just see Henry Bolingbroke and Mowbray getting ready to rumble here?
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The Hudson Shakespeare Company has a cool image of the first page of Richard II as it appeared in the 1623 First Folio. Check it out.
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The man who became King Henry IV
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A portrait of the historical John of Gaunt