This Day in History: 2019-02-14

On 14th February 2019, to commemorate the death of Richard II, A video ‘The Sacred King‘ was published on YouTube. The film which was shot in the ‘dungeon’ at Pontefract Castle, was of the often-called ‘prison speech’ from William Shakespeare’s historical tragedy Richard II, taken from the beginning of Act 5, Scene 5. The scene of the king’s final speech had never been filmed at the historic site before. The Sacred King was directed by Yvonne Morley, filmed by Ben Porter, performed by Mark Burghagen with music by Shakespeare contemporary John Dowland, performed by tenor John Potter and lutenist Jacob Heringman.