by William Shakespeare
seen at the Barbican on 14 January 2016 (evening) as part four of 'King & Country'
This new production from the RSC is directed by Gregory Doran and designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis, with music by Paul Englishby. It features Alex Hassell as King Henry and Oliver Ford Davies as the Chorus, with Sarah Parks as Mistress Quickly, Joshua Richards as Bardolph and Fluellen, and Martin Bassindale as the Boy. As part of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, it is being presented with Richard II and the two parts of Henry IV as a sequence entitled 'King & Country'.
The programme note helpfully suggests that this is not really a 'pro-war' play, nor an 'anti-war' play (it has been seen as both in response to contemporary crises) but rather a 'going-to-war' play. This production was neither gung-ho nor overtly critical of war, and the king was neither thoughtlessly militaristic nor unwilling to fight.
In fact Alex Hassell's king remained something of a mystery or even a contradiction - the famous Harfleur and St Crispin's speeches were given with great conviction - the latter especially moving - and they seemed heartfelt rather than merely rhetorical. Yet the steeliness was there: no compunction in threatening awful destruction on Harfleur, in executing Bardolph, in ordering the Agincourt prisoners to be killed. But the mercurial side was there too - the king was happy to trick Fluellen into an altercation with the soldier Williams (Simon Yadoo) in the manner of a schoolboy's lark; and after some hesitation he had no difficulty in accepting the soldier's sudden unexpected blow. (Something of Eastcheap still having a place, perhaps.) Also, crucially, he turned on a certain charm when wooing the French princess (Jennifer Kirby - winningly coquettish). There was not too much bluster there - a king who could use even his ignorance of language to good effect as much as in the stirring exhortations to his men.
The stately formality of the set for Richard II was here revealed as just so many stage props and effects before the play began, with technicians to be seen walking around, the theatrical illusion completely broken. But of course this turned out to be entirely appropriate as Oliver Ford Davies came into view, a reassuring figure with a casual bright scarf draped over his shirt. As the Chorus he implored the audience to use their imaginations, and all was rapidly put in place and the play was once more in the recognisable territory of the 'King & Country' sequence. The cast, all of whom we had seen in other parts in the previous plays, assumed new characters here as necessary as well as continuing their established roles.
Curiously, in a play which introduced many new situations and characters, one was omitted towards the end: instead of the Duke of Burgundy giving the formal speech opening the diplomatic process after the war, this was given to the French Queen (Jane Laportaire). It was not at all clear why she was in a position to say what she said, as she could hardly be considered an impartial broker; was it an attempt to echo the strong speech by a woman (the Duchess of Gloucester, also Jane Laportaire) at the beginning of Richard II? It seemed an odd distraction.
All told, the sequence seen together in three days was a rich experience of an impressive series of productions. Though they had originally been mounted independently, and indeed in different years - and Gregory Doran is on record as saying that he wanted to explore Richard II in its own right and not as the mere prelude to a sequence - they made for a remarkably unified whole.
In fact Alex Hassell's king remained something of a mystery or even a contradiction - the famous Harfleur and St Crispin's speeches were given with great conviction - the latter especially moving - and they seemed heartfelt rather than merely rhetorical. Yet the steeliness was there: no compunction in threatening awful destruction on Harfleur, in executing Bardolph, in ordering the Agincourt prisoners to be killed. But the mercurial side was there too - the king was happy to trick Fluellen into an altercation with the soldier Williams (Simon Yadoo) in the manner of a schoolboy's lark; and after some hesitation he had no difficulty in accepting the soldier's sudden unexpected blow. (Something of Eastcheap still having a place, perhaps.) Also, crucially, he turned on a certain charm when wooing the French princess (Jennifer Kirby - winningly coquettish). There was not too much bluster there - a king who could use even his ignorance of language to good effect as much as in the stirring exhortations to his men.
The stately formality of the set for Richard II was here revealed as just so many stage props and effects before the play began, with technicians to be seen walking around, the theatrical illusion completely broken. But of course this turned out to be entirely appropriate as Oliver Ford Davies came into view, a reassuring figure with a casual bright scarf draped over his shirt. As the Chorus he implored the audience to use their imaginations, and all was rapidly put in place and the play was once more in the recognisable territory of the 'King & Country' sequence. The cast, all of whom we had seen in other parts in the previous plays, assumed new characters here as necessary as well as continuing their established roles.
Curiously, in a play which introduced many new situations and characters, one was omitted towards the end: instead of the Duke of Burgundy giving the formal speech opening the diplomatic process after the war, this was given to the French Queen (Jane Laportaire). It was not at all clear why she was in a position to say what she said, as she could hardly be considered an impartial broker; was it an attempt to echo the strong speech by a woman (the Duchess of Gloucester, also Jane Laportaire) at the beginning of Richard II? It seemed an odd distraction.
All told, the sequence seen together in three days was a rich experience of an impressive series of productions. Though they had originally been mounted independently, and indeed in different years - and Gregory Doran is on record as saying that he wanted to explore Richard II in its own right and not as the mere prelude to a sequence - they made for a remarkably unified whole.
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