Set against a backdrop of betrayal, lies, and conspiracies, Richard II takes us deep into the entrails of a fratricidal war where alliances are forged and broken.
Power and its legitimacy are central to this tragedy. The play hinges on the House of Commons, a vast set surrounded by tiered seating where each character crosses swords and advances their arguments, and a mental and physical landscape from which no one can escape their fate.
Richard II returns to the Amandiers following its success at the 2022 Festival d’Avignon and last season. The nervy, energetic staging brings the issues to the fore, with a masterful Micha Lescot in the leading role.
Christophe Rauck founded his company in 1995 with actors from the Théâtre du Soleil. From 2003 to 2005, he was director of the Théâtre du Peuple de Bussang, where he created Le Dragon [The Dragon] by Evgueni Schwartz, La Vie de Galilée [Life of Galileo] by Bertolt Brecht and Le Revizor [The Government Inspector] by Nikolai Gogol. He then staged Getting Attention by Martin Crimp at the Théâtre des Abbesses, and L’Araignée de l’Éternel based on texts by Claude Nougaro, and Le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais at the Comédie-Française before directing the TGP-centre dramatique national de Saint-Denis from 2008 to 2013. He created Cœur ardent [The Ardent Heart] by Alexander Ostrovski, Têtes rondes et têtes pointues [Round Heads and Pointed Heads] by Bertolt Brecht, Cassé by Rémi De Vos and Les Serments indiscrets [Careless Vows] by Pierre de Marivaux (Grand prix du Syndicat de la critique). During this period, he also staged Phèdre by Racine and two operas by Monteverdi. In 2014, he was appointed director of the Théâtre du Nord and its affiliated school, the École du Nord, in Lille. He has directed three plays by Rémi De Vos (Toute ma vie j’ai fait des choses que je ne savais pas faire, Ben oui mais enfin bon and Départ volontaire), Figaro divorce by Odön von Horvath (Prix Georges-Lerminier du Syndicat de la critique: best provincial production), Comme il vous plaira [As You Like It] by Shakespeare and recently, two plays by Sara Stridsberg: La Faculté des rêves [The Faculty of Dreams] and Dissection d’une chute de neige [Anatomy of a Snowfall]. In 2017, he created Molière’s Amphitryon in Moscow, with eight former students of Piotr Fomenko. Invited to the 2018 Festival d’Avignon with the young actors graduating from Year 5 of the École du Nord, Christophe Rauck presented Le Pays lointain (Un arrangement) by Jean-Luc Lagarce. Since January 2021, Christophe Rauck has been the director of the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, a national drama centre.
In July 2022, for the 76th Festival d’Avignon, he staged Shakespeare’s Richard II, which opened the 22-23 season at the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers and will be performed again in December 2023.
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