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Actors' Shakespeare Project Continues 12th Season With Richard II

The play starts performances tonight at YMCA Central Square Theatre.

Doug Lockwood plays the title character in Actors' Shakespeare Project's production of Richard II.
Doug Lockwood plays the title character in Actors' Shakespeare Project's production of Richard II.

Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of Richard II begins its run tonight at the Cambridge YMCA Theatre.

The play follows Richard II, the last king of the house of Plantagenet, who has developed a reputation for spending frivolously and listening to the advice of questionable counselors. As the distance between him and his people grows and his efforts to raise money become more controversial, he finds that the latest war he’s sparked is with his own country. Richard II captures a king and nation in turmoil, struggling with the social upheaval and political turmoil.

Shakespeare’s well-known history is directed by Actors’ Shakespeare Project artistic director Allyn Burrows and features a seven-member cast that includes Doug Lockwood as King Richard II, Marya Lowry as Duchess of York, Paula Plum as Queen, Michael Forden Walker as Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, Robert Walsh as Duke of York, Lewis D. Wheeler as Mowbray/Henry Percy, and Malcolm Ingram as John of Gaunt.

"Shakespeare’s history plays are a blast to do under any circumstances because, contrary to what many people may think, they're immensely personal," says Burrows. "Richard II is a thoroughbred: beautiful language, searing political acrimony, raging familial antipathy and some irony thrown in for good measure."

The creative team includes Janie E. Howland (set design), Daniel H. Jentzen (lighting design), Tyler Kinney (costume design), and Arshan Gailus (sound design).

Performances will run through March 13.

For tickets and more information, click here.

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Richard II

Closed: March 13, 2016