Henry IV Part Two

by William Shakespeare

seen at the Barbican on 14 January 2016 (afternoon) as part three of 'King & Country'

This revival of the RSC's 2014 production is directed by Gregory Doran and designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis with music by Paul Englishby. It features Jasper Britton as King Henry IV, Alex Hassell as Prince Hal, Anthony Sher as Falstaff, Sam Marks as Ned Poins, and Oliver Ford Davies as Justice Shallow. As part of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, it is being presented with Richard II, Henry IV Part One and Henry V as a sequence entitled 'King & Country'.

Considering that the play has a very similar structural pattern to that of Henry IV Part One it is striking how different the tone is. The prolonged 'Eastsheap' scene with Doll Tearsheet (Emma King) and Mistress Quickly (Sarah Parks, played with a distractingly broad accent) seems more hectic, and Falstaff here even more selfish, while the king is far weaker physically, and the scenes between Falstaff and Justice Shallow, the erstwhile companion of his youth, are tinged with a melancholy regret for the passage of time (these have no direct parallel in the earlier play). In the meantime Prince Hal is brought to realise that slumming it with the likes of Ned Poins is by no means a meeting of equals, while his relationship with his father barely survives a deathbed misunderstanding. 

Henry IV Part One

by William Shakespeare

seen at the Barbican on 13 January 2016 as part two of 'King & Country'

This revival of the RSC's 2014 production is directed by Gregory Doran and designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis with music by Paul Englishby. It features Jasper Britton as King Henry IV, Alex Hassell as Prince Hal, Anthony Sher as Falstaff, Sam Marks as Ned Poins, Sean Chapman as the Duke of Northumberland and Matthew Needham as Hotspur. As part of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, it is being presented with Richard II, Henry IV Part Two and Henry V as a sequence entitled 'King & Country'.

In this production, the play begins as if exactly where Richard II left off - Henry's protestation of innocence and vow to go to the Holy Land at the end of the former play leading quite naturally into the opening speech of this play. Here, the continuity is further emphasised by the ghostly figure of the murdered king who turns away and vanishes as the play begins.

Death of a Salesman

by Arthur Miller

seen at the Duke of Yorks Theatre on 4 July 2015

The play, directed by Gregory Doran, and designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis, stars Anthony Sher as Willy Loman, Harriet Walter as Linda, Alex Hassell as Biff, Sam Marks as Happy and Guy Paul as Ben. It is an RSC transfer from Stratford.

The set mainly shows the Loman household, with bedroom and dining room adjoining (the kitchen and bathroom notionally behind), and the boys' bedroom in an attic space above. All around, the apartment blocks are represented as flat walls encroaching on the garden (as Willy several times complains); but at moments of stress they become mere frames of netting when lit from behind. Other scenes such as Willy's hotel room when travelling, the office and a restaurant, are played in front of the house space. This is an extremely effective way of visualising the claustrophobic nature of Willy's world.