Henry V

Synopsis

Shakespeare's patriotic history play about the warrior-king. Henry V leads the English to victory at Agincourt and afterwards is taught the words of love by the French Princess, Katherine. A vivid depiction of the horrors of war and a romantic, fast-moving story.

Our Review:

26 March 2001

"Erewego, erewego, erewego"...it's England in a real humdinger of an away fixture. And what a blinder, an away win in France, that's 1-0 to England.

Edward Hall's production of Henry V shows the king as the master of a rag-tag of yobs and hoodlums, ready to run amok in France. Given that during Euro 2000 last year, there were several MPs who said that the football hooligans should be applauded as the spiritual descendents of the victors of Agincourt, it's not too far-fetched a thesis.

Rather than seeing the play as a triumphal shout of English nationalism, however, Hall takes the opportunity to question what it means to be English. And Henry himself, is not the glorious warrior king of Shakespeare's invention but a shrewd, political manipulator ready to catch the tide of nationalism and exploit it for his own purposes. He presides over a court where the Dauphin's title is willfully mispronounced and where the Marseillaise is mocked.

We see a king b...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com - 11 April 2001:

This is hard, sharp, in your face production. The paly has improved since the Stratford run. Go and see it, Will Houston is brilliant...what's he in next!...

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