His plays and adaptations have been performed in many countries and in many languages. Among the many adaptations Berkoff has created for the stage, directed and toured, are Kafka's Metamorphosis and The Trial, Agamemnon after Aeschylus, and Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. He has directed and toured productions of Shakespeare's Coriolanus also playing the title role, Richard II, Hamlet and Macbeth, as well as Oscar Wilde's Salome.

To quote Steven Berkoff, "Richard II is one of Shakespeare's most lyrical plays, in that although Richard is a terrible king he is, conversely, a marvellous poet. As for so many of Shakespeare's villains, their poetry improves as their fortunes decline. Richard is less a villain than a vain, greedy and self-obsessed king, who sees himself as England and exiles Bolingbroke his cousin as a potential threat. Like so much in recent history, merely being powerful would seem tantamount to demanding mindless worship and endless genuflecting. But kingship cannot be just given without a commensurate effort to be worthy of the office., which Richard obviously is not. His corruption eventually brings his downfall, as Bolingbroke returns with his followers to rid England of this weak and vainglorious parasite."

Don't miss this rare opportnity to see Shakespeare performed at it's absolute best.

Jackie Miller

Just a reminder for anyone wishing to see Richard II directed by one of the leading figures in British theatre since the sixties, Steven Berkoff, to make contact with the festival box office as soon as possible on +44 (0) 1584 872150. Email: mailto:admin@ludlowfestival.co.uk

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