Richard II tells the story of Richard’s rivalry with his cousin Bolingbroke, which ends in King Richard II losing his crown and his life.

For young people of all ages, this play is a brilliant way to look at the qualities of a good leader or king in comparing the two men fighting for the crown. There are also a number of themes you can use as routes in to the text, including:

Kingship

War

Responsibility

There are lots of ways you could choose to approach this text but you may find the following particularly useful: