Previous
Act 2, Scene 6
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in If We Were Villains, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fate vs. Free Will
Identity and Disguise
Love and Sexuality
Theatre and Corruption
Summary
Analysis
The show is well-received on campus, but Oliver is distracted and nervous as he goes about the following day. He thinks about how Richard will surely retaliate if they act against him. Before the show, Alexander gives Oliver a spliff, which he smokes completely. The show goes on, and when it gets to the assassination scene, Richard grabs a high Oliver around the throat. Alexander and the other conspirators in the scene grab Richard, put his arm behind his back, and attack him in earnest. Flailing, Richard hits Filippa and throws her onto the stairs. The second- and third-years in the scene are shaken, but Alexander and James smooth it over. As he exits, Oliver looks at Richard on the floor—he's “dead,” but still visibly angry.
The assassination plot is on after Richard attacks Oliver. Now the conspirator characters are trying to take down a tyrant in reality. Richard now directs his violence toward Filippa, who wasn’t part of the plot at all. His strike at her mirrors his violence toward Meredith, as they fall onto the same set of stairs. Since the play is still going on, Richard has no choice but to succumb and “die” onstage, and the fury Oliver sees on his face is likely due to the brief powerlessness that the script forces on him.
Themes
