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The Holy Terror

An adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard II by Kevin Connell.

The "holy terror" is a king named Richard, seemingly trapped in adolescence. Perpetually doomed to act out like a child (rather than out of evilness or hatred), he is a sensitive soul, deeply affected by the death-when he was nine years old- -of his father, Edward the Black Prince (b.1330 - d.1376). Subsequently thrown into kingship at the age of ten, Richard is ill-equipped to rule yet is historically recognized as having the divine and legal right to do so. Includes eight color photos.

Praise for The Holy Terror: "Connell's adaptation, which adds text from a variety of sources to an abbreviation of Richard II, streamlines the story and themes of Shakespeare's original, honing in sharply on one main idea-the notion that absolute monarchy corrupts absolutely. His Richard takes and squanders freely because he knows he can, and the very idea that he can be contradicted-let alone deposed-is radical. . . . The Holy Terror does not shrink from other matters, however: we still hear Richard ponder the death of kings in the play's most famous speech (wisely uncut by Connell). But this Richard's belief in the "hollow crown" feels more hollow than usual-Connell . . . never lets us forget that the movers and shakers of big events who populate this play are also just people, fueled by the same drives as you and me; this Richard never quite loses his petulance, even in defeat. . . . Not only has [Connell] succeeded in zeroing in, with real clarity and acuity, on a very specific take on a classic story, but he's also done a bang-up job of good old-fashioned storytelling."- - Martin Denton (NYTheatre.com)

KEVIN CONNELL - - Playwriting credits include: an adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard II titled The Holy Terror (Stage Voices Publishing); Temporarily Yours (produced at the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland); co-adaptor of the stage version of Kathryn Harrison's novel Exposure.