Act II scene 4 - a camp in Wales
Enter BAGOT and a Welsh Captain
Captain
Good Sir Bagot, we have stay'd ten days,
And hardly kept our Countrymen together,
And yet we hear no tidings from the King;
Therefore we will disperse ourselves: farewell.
BAGOT
Stay yet another day, thou trusty Welshman, 5
The King reposeth all his confidence in thee.
Captain
'Tis thought the King is dead, we will not stay;
The Bay-trees in our Country all are wither'd
And Meteors fright the fixed Stars of Heaven;
The pale-faced Moon looks bloody on the Earth 10
And lean-look'd Prophets whisper fearful change;
Rich men look sad, and Ruffians dance and leap,
The one in fear, to lose what they enjoy,
The other to enjoy by Rage, and War:
These signs forerun the death of Kings. 15
Farewell: our Countrymen are gone and fled,
As well assured Richard their King is dead.
Exit
BAGOT
Ah Richard, with eyes of heavy mind
I see thy Glory like a shooting Star
Fall to the base Earth from the Firmament: 20
Thy Sun sets weeping in the lowly West,
Witnessing Storms to come, Woe and Unrest:
Thy Friends are fled to wait upon thy Foes,
And crossly to thy good all fortune goes.
Exit
As the dancers exited, they left behind Bagot and the Welsh Captain in the DSR quadrant, clearly in the middle of their conversation.
This scene is short and to the point. Richard is hemorrhaging followers. The Welsh Captain was played by a statuesque African-American first-year actress, CJ Igwe. She and Bagot conveyed two military leaders, both of whom understand that they are pawns in a much bigger game, and that they have no control over the circumstances. The unspoken suggestion is that Richard's homogeneous world is not as welcoming, nor does he care as much about his supporters, as Henry's heterogeneous one is and Henry does.
The scales are beginning to tilt. As Bagot goes to warn Richard, he is surrounded by bodies, both Richard's boys and Bolingbroke's faction. Sia's "Unstoppable" sets the tone of this interaction; but while both teams think they'll win, Bushy and Green are defeated as the other side is empowered. They are captured by Northie and her troops, and Bagot and Scroop flee as we transition to the execution.
Special recognition must be given to Sky Aguilar, our student SM and sound designer. These transitions meant that sound choices had to be completed months earlier than usual; Sky made it happen, and provided sound in rehearsals so we could essentially tech these moments early.