About Richard the Second

Richard the Second is regarded by many critics, including best-selling author Harold Bloom, as one of Shakespeare's most lyrical plays. Shakespeare biographer Park Honan describes it as a proto-type for Hamlet, the inward-looking prince. It is also one of Shakespeare's least produced plays, never having been filmed as a feature (although there have been celebrated video productions in Britain), and presenting a rare opportunity for an indie production team.

Forming an irresistible backdrop to the story for filmmakers Joseph Erickson and John Farrell, was the deserted old Civil-War fort on Long Island in Boston Harbor, a haunted place of empty halls, subterranean dungeons and high towers overgrown with trees and growth, a romantic, beautiful location for the setting of a tale describing the fall and redemption of an indecisive king.

The production features Matte Osian (Conspiracy Theory, Twelfth Night), Kadina Delejalde (Indictment), Deb Snyder (Ang Lee's Pushing Hands), Tom Turbiville (Remember the Titans), Ellen Zachos (Law & Order), and Neil Tadken (General Hospital) among its talented cast.

Shooting Richard the Second posed a number of challenges, not least of which is the fact that Long Island is smack in the middle of Boston Harbor, and on some days, depending on the wind direction, the main marker for air traffic lining up to land at Logan Airport—a circumstance that tested the patience of the sound crew on many days of the two-week shoot. An added difficulty for some of the dungeon scenes was the complete lack of electricity at the fort. This necessitated the use of torch light which, however atmospheric, required extra care and on one occasion almost led to an accidental brush fire.

Running Time: 97 mins.

Produced by Joseph Erickson / Directed by John Farrell

Writer/director John Farrell has over ten years experience in educational publishing and media.He shoots and edits D-9 for the Virtual Patient Project, an ongoing production of the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education & Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He also worked as an associate producer in the early 90's for WCVB-TV, the Boston ABC affiliate, as a video project manager for Prentice Hall School Division, and as a staff writer for Readers Guide to Periodical Literature. He has produced independent videos for Fleet, Service Employees International Union and Hearst. He has written for Salon and National Review. His articles have also appeared in About.com, Arts & Letters Daily and SciTech Daily.

Producer Joseph M. Erickson is the Vice President for Program Services at the Big Brothers of Massachusetts Bay. He oversees the program service's operations of bringing boys ages 6 - 16 with Big Brothers into a positive, mentoring relationship. Prior to this he ran a residential program and school for boys in Central Massachusetts for the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps and managed clinical programming for the Northeastern Family Institute for residential and community based treatment. Mr. Erickson completed his clinical social work training at the Harvard Medical Area's training sites Judge Baker Children's Center, Manville School and Children's Hospital in Boston in 1986.