Magic Theatre and Play On! Shakespeare present Richard II translated by Naomi Iizuka at Fort Mason Center For Arts & Culture. Following the events of the final two years of his life, Richard II interrogates royal power and the forces that threaten it.

After banishing his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Richard begins to lose his grip on his throne and strives to find meaning in the churn and chaos of the events unfolding around him. In her new translation, Naomi Iizuka ventures into the mystery of the work, scraping away the layers of received wisdom and cracking the play open for contemporary audiences.

Richard II is Shakespeare’s examination of the destructive powers of privilege. In the second half of the Iizuka Repertory – the company from the world premiere of Garuda’s Wing (recently presented at Magic) – perform a new, lean production of Iizuka’s Play On! version of Richard II, shaped to this company. Not modernized, just new. This is the first Shakespeare produced by Magic Theatre in decades.

Play On! Shakespeare has created an entire library of new versions of the entire Shakespeare canon with some of the greatest living writers. But these are “pure,” they are translated line for line. This new chapter for Play On! focuses on making new productions.

Magic Theatre is matching these translations with new versions, embodying them entirely with a POC cast – filled with the folx typically outside of Shakespeare text and productions. Richard II features POC, women, and Queer folx throughout and rightfully centered, embodying the original story and context – no adaptation – created for now!

Richard II plays August 21, 2024 through September 8, 2024, Wednesday through Saturday, 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 4:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. Sunday, September 8, 2024). Opening night is Saturday, August 24, 2024, 8:00 p.m. More shows have been added: Friday, September 6 and 13, 2024, 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, September 15, 2024, 2:00 p.m.