'Henry V' by William Shakespeare
17 March 2023
On Saturday we were at the Royal Theatre in Northampton to see 'Henry V' - a joint production by Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Shakespeare’s Globe and Headlong, with Leeds Playhouse, directed by Headlong’s Artistic Director Holly Race Roughan. This was an interesting take on 'Henry V', played in casual modern dress on a bare stage with all the actors on stage for most of the performance, sitting on chairs to watch the scenes that didn't involve them. Dispensing with the role of Chorus, the cast took turns to introduce each scene, speaking the stage directions and announcing which characters they were playing, making the audience feel like we were eavesdropping on the rehearsal room. Oliver Johnstone played Henry V, not as the traditional soldier king but more like Hamlet, a troubled soul who talks to his dead father (introduced at the start with a scene from the end of 'Henry IV Part 2') and a reluctant leader. His "Cry God for Harry, England and Saint George!" is spoken quietly to himself as if rehearsing what he plans to say to his troops. And the final words of his rousing St Crispin's Day rallying cry are interrupted by another character changing the subject. While it was interesting to consider Henry as someone whose miraculous transition from the playboy Prince Hal to warrior monarch might have been more political spin than reality, the production's host of clever ideas removed much of the emotional punch of the play. I was, however, fascinated by the essay in the programme by Jane Grogan which relates the way Shakespeare portrays Henry's imperial ambitions to conquer France with the political context when the play was written. Elizabethan England had no empire but had established plantations in Ireland and Virginia, and the ships of the joint stock trading companies were setting off from London to trade with the powerful Ottoman empire. Shakespeare was writing in a time of emergent empire and used Henry V to reflect on the new 'empire state of mind'. Having just been listening to the wonderful 'Empire' podcast (reviewed here in January 2023) discussing the Ottoman empire it was really interesting to connect this to what was happening in England at the same time.
posted by Robin Simpson @ 2:42 pm
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