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Richard of Bordeaux (play)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard of Bordeaux is a play by Gordon Daviot (pseudonym for Elizabeth Macintosh) that depicts the story of Richard II of England in a romantic fashion, emphasizing the relationship between Richard and his queen Anne of Bohemia. Daviot wrote the play after seeing John Gielgud play Shakespeare's Richard II at the Old Vic Theatre, and submitted it to him for production. Gielgud had reservations about the play but agreed to test it out for two matinee performances at the Arts Theatre.
Gielgud finally recognized the play's potential and directed it with himself as Richard at the New Theatre in February of 1932. Prior to that production, Gielgud was regarded as a highly respected classical actor based on his performances at the Old Vic, but the overwhelming success of Richard of Bordeaux catapulted him into the status of superstar. The play ran for over a year in the West End (a substantial run for its time).
The play crossed the Atlantic to Broadway in 1934 with Dennis King as Richard, but without Gielgud in the role, the play ran for only 38 performances.
Gielgud tried to make one of his rare film appearances in the role in the 1930s and teamed with Alexander Korda to produce it, but the project fell through. He later tried to persuade Dirk Bogarde to play the part on film in the 1960s, but to no avail. The play is rarely revived, although Peter Cushing starred in a 1955 television version on the BBC and Martin Jarvis was well-received as Richard in a 1974 radio production.