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.
