Henry IV and V, at Shakespeare's Globe

Months ago, my friend A suggested that we see the Globe Theatre's trilogy of History plays - Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II and Henry V. They are all on as part of the Globe's summer season, and if one is particularly keen or, some might suggest, masochistic, one can book to see all 3 plays in a day, with the first at noon, the second at 4 and the third at 8, meaning one spends around 7 hours in total sitting on the Globe's rather unforgiving wooden benches! 

The cast is relatively small  - 11 people for Henry IV Part 1, and 10 for Part 2 and Henry V, so most play more than one role. 

Henry IV Pt 1 was excellent  - Michelle Terry, who is the Globe's Artistic Director, played Hotspur (see amazing photo here ) and hers was a stand-out performance - her Hotspur was wonderfully angry, fiery, vibrant and funny, and her scenes, both with Hal (Sarah Amankwah) and with The Douglas (Nina Bowers) were highlights of the evening, and her scenes with Lady Percy (Leaphia Darko) were poignant, as Hotspur ignores her love and concern.

Pt 2 was a little less fun - partly as it isn't (in my view) as strong a play as either of the others, plus it has an awful lot of Falstaff in it, and for me, a little Falstaff goes a very long way! And in this case, I was still missing Hotspur!  

Then, that evening, we returned for Henry V.The flags of all the factions had been taken down, and replaced with the royal standard, 

And we were off to Agincourt!

I always enjoy Henry V, and this time was no exception. Sarah Amankwah was excellent - although her 'Upon the King' soliloquy was much angrier and less pensive than in many productions. 

Colin Hurley is not the obvious choice for Katherine, being a balding, middle aged man, but the casting worked surprisingly well, and he seemed to be having a lot of fun with the role (including giving Michelle Terry, who had joined the groundlings to watch this performance, a Very Hard Stare when she kicked a plastic cup someone had dropped, during  a quiet moment in the wooing scene...!)

I enjoyed all three plays, and seeing them all in one day was a really good experience.And I did enjoy how much of the humour (as opposed to the often rather laboured jokes) came through.

I think if I were only able to see one, I  would pick Henry IV Pt 1.

The plays are on as part of the Globe's season until 11th October .   

Henry V - Antic Disposition at Wells Cathedral

I enjoyed Antic Disposition's Richard III last year, at Bristol Cathedral, and really enjoyed it,  so when I saw that they were bringing Henry V to Wells I naturally booked it straight away.

The production is touring, as part of a UK cathedrals tour, ending in Stratford upon Avon in November.

And it is extraordinary.

It was originally produced in 2015,  which was the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, and of course also marked the centenary of the first full year of WW1. This production of Henry V is set within the framing device of  being performed by wounded soldiers, some French, some English, convalescing  in a hospital 'Somewhere in France', in 1915. 

It opens with a stream of wounded coming into the hospital, including a young English soldier, his eyes bandaged following a gas attack, being led by a French soldier, to whom, in gratitude, he gives his only book, a pocket version of Henry V (which is, understandably, initially seen as an insult, before it is made clear that it is a gesture of thanks..)  "J'ai une idee" a nurse says..

'Stage' and programme (at the interval)

Then we see these soldiers, and nurses, start to perform the play, with the limited props they have , the French and English crowns made from recycled tin cans, and the soldiers wearing their own (and each other's) uniforms, the famous tennis balls being rolls of bandages, and the only set dressing made from wooden supply crates,  and  (modern) French and English flags to mark each camp.
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When the Shakespeare starts, it is as you might expect from  a group of actors assembled by chance and their wounds rather than by any experience, a little hit and miss, we see the Bishops struggling with their lines, over acting and needing to check the text, and being heckled by their comrades, but  then as the play moves on they segue smoothly into a smoother and more confident performance.

The WWI setting works really well,  as do the songs (seven poems by A.E. Housman,set to music plus the 'Chant du départ  by  Marie-Joseph Chénier) and the preparations for battle,  the  siege, and the battle itself, are particularly poignant, presented as they are by characters who are themselves soldiers in the midst of a war, and who know first hand the horrors and cost involved.

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Henry delivers his 'Once more into the Breach' speech in a rather rugby-scrum like mob, lifted to the shoulders of his men, and we see the Armies prepare to go into battle as though going 'over the top',complete with whistles and officers hand-guns.

There are moments when WWI breaks through . As Bardolph (James Murfitt) waits execution, we see him break character as Bardolph as his character of a WW1 shell-shocked man breaks through, and the others follow suit to care for him.

The play works in this setting extraordinarily well, and it's deeply moving. The tour is almost over, but if you happen to be in Stratford on Avon, Salisbury, Oxford or Hereford in the next few days, and can catch it, I strongly recommend it.

I'm not sure how long it will be up for, but there was a local new piece about it here

In Which there is a lot of theatre!

At the end of November I had a further trip to London, to see the RSC Henry V at the Barbican, and the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company All on her own' / Harliquinade double-bill at the Garrick theatre.

Both were very good. 

The Henry V is part of the 'Great Cycle of Kings', directed by Gregory Doran, - Richard II, Henry IV parts I and II, and Henry V.

I saw Richard II (with David Tennant) in Stratford, in November 2013,and then saw Henry IV Pt. I as a live broadcast, and Henry IV Pt. II at Bath, last November, so when I saw that the RSC was reuniting the same cast and performing the pays at the Barbican in London I decided that I would go and fill in the gap, and see the last of the 4. 

Alex Hassell as Henry V - Photo (c) RSC

I enjoyed it a lot. It's pretty much uncut, and Hassell was a convincingly tough and aggressive Henry, and while I am not a fan of Shakespeare's 'comic' Scots / Welsh / Irish Captains, their scenes were done well.

I also found it interesting to be back at the Barbican and to see the contrast between the huge and ornate 'Hamlet' set, and the sparse Henry V one!

I then had the pleasure of meeting up with a friend for a meal and catch up, before heading to the Garrick theatre to see the first of the plays in Kenneth Branagh's company's run (I have ticket for a couple of the others, for next year)

It was a Terence Rattigan double bill - 'All on her Own', a monologue, performed by Zoë Wanamaker, as a widow returning home after a party, a  little the worse for wear, and starting a conversation with her late husband. Poignant and superbly performed. 

The second half of the double bill was 'Harlquinade', which is utterly hilarious. I never realised what a talent for comedy Branagh had! 

The play is set during a dress rehearsal of 'Romeo and Juliet' in 1946, and features Branagh as Arthur Gosport, an ageing actor-manager who, with his wife is touring the provinces as part of a government scheme to bring culture to the masses.

Both he and his wife, (Miranda Raison) are both utterly absorbed in the play, oblivious to their stage manager's attempts to tell them he will to be continuing the tour, and  the implications of the arrival of young Mrs Palmer and her baby... not to mention issues of bigamy, and farcical misunderstandings.

Hadley Fraser has a slight slight as the First Halberdier, and the whole thing is laugh-out-loud funny. There's something highly entertaining about watching very good actors pretending to be not-so-good actors.

It was a lot of fun.

And then on Sunday, before I went home, I got to meet up with a relative I haven't seen for ages which was great.

Henry V

I was in London for the day on Saturday. I had booked to see 'Photograph 51', a play about Dr Rosalind Franklin and her role in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, but I arrived early enough to have time to go first to the Guildhall Gallery where there is a temporary display commemorating the 600th Anniversary of the battle of Agincourt.

There is the Great Chronicle of London, displaying an account of Henry V's entry into London following his victory. 

The centrepiece of the exhibition is the Crystal Sceptre (also known as the Crystal Mace) which was a gift from Henry V to the City of London, in thanks for their having loaned him the money (around £4M in modern terms) to finance his campaign.

Crystal Sceptre - head showing Henry V's coat of Arms

The sceptre is made of rock crystal and gold, and apparently (and with a touch of irony) the crystal parts were, almost certainly made in France! 

The whole thing is beautiful, and I found it amazing that it has, apparently, never been put on display before (it is used each time a new Lord Mayor is installed, but apparently they only hold the box, and it does get an airing when it is carried by the Lord Mayor during coronations, so I suppose people may have caught a glimpse of it in 1953)

Hedon Mace

The second item on display is the Hedon Mace - it belongs to the town council of Hedon, in East Yorkshire, and is believed to be a mace used at the battle of Agincourt, which was then coated in silver gilt, and was given to the town by Henry V when he granted a charter to the town in 1415. 

It is believed to be the oldest surviving ceremonial mace in the country, and looking at it, one of the things which stands out is that despite the gilding and engraving it is still, very obviously, a weapon. You can imagine a medieval Brian Blessed wielding it to lethal effect!

Its on display until 3rd December.

Entirely gratuitous picture of Tom Hiddleston as Henry V, because
 when am I likely to get a better excuse?

Cabbages and Kings

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but mostly related to work and other non-bloggable stuff. However, this weekend is more interesting.(It's true that the Olympic Flame relay came through my home town, and through the town where one of our offices is based, but I wasn't there in either case, didn't see it, and had no real wish to see it, which does not make for exciting blogging!)

After a very wet, very cold spring we seem suddenly to have been given all of the missing warmth and sunshine at once - my clematis has exploded into flower, as have the rock geraniums, and after a lot of tiring, and at times stressful stuff at work, this weekend has been about good things.

On Friday, I went to Bath Theatre royal to see the Globe Theatre 's touring production of Henry V.I realised, as I waited for the play to start, that it is not a play I've seen performed live, before. I have read it, and I have seen both the Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh film versions, but never seen it on stage.

(photo from Globe Theatre website)

It is not, of course, one of Shakespeare's more subtle plays, and this production concentrated on doing it well, and not on trying to make it something it isn't. The French were vain, in shiny armour and fancy surcoats. The English had plainer, battered looking armour, and big, ugly pole-axes and pikes - it wasn't hard to imagine them on a muddy battlefield, actaully killing people.
Jamie Parker as King Henry was excellent, coming across as a soldier with a conscience. The production was originally designed for the Globe, but worked well in the Theatre Royal, with lots of exits and entrances through the auditorium, and heralds and drums and pikemen charging up via the stalls.

I personally found the comedy interludes, with Pistol and Bartolph and Nym rather overdone and tedious, and would have been happy for all or most of them to be cut, but I often have that reaction to the 'comedy' in Shakespeare's history plays, so I'm  not inclined to blame the Globe for that !

The Chorus was played by Brid Brennan, which meant that the Chorus was portrayed as an older serving woman,  which was interesting.

Stylistically, it seemed to me that the production owed a good deal to the Branagh film version of the play, and it was definiely well worth seeing. at least 4 stars!