Henry VI: Part 3: The Chaos

Synopsis

Henry VI concedes that the House of York shall inherit the crown after his death, angering his wife Margaret who fights for the House of Lancaster. Fathers kill sons, sons kill fathers. The House of York prevails and Edward IV is crowned, unaware that his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester is already plotting his downfall.

Our Review:

23 January 2001

Note: The following review dates from this production's original Stratford run in January 2001.

This, the third in the trilogy on the reign of Henry VI, is Shakespeare's play about the Wars of the Roses. It packs a tremendous amount of complex narrative into three hours. Kings are deposed and crowned, restored and overthrown. Great barons change sides for personal advantage and the blood continues to flow in ever increasing amounts.

Those in the audience who have already seen the first two parts of the trilogy may wonder just when the RSC's blood-bank will run dry. How much more of the horrors of war and man's inhumanity can people take at such close quarters in director Michael Boyd's intimate theatre-in-the-round version of this gory spectacle?

But it's only when we think "oh no, not another battle, not more death and suffering, when will it ever end?" that Boyd's and Shakespeare's point is made. When we truly can take no more, the las...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com - 22 May 2001:

SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

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