Henry VI: Part One (RSC)
Note: The following review dates from this production’s original Stratford run in January 2001.
The interior of the Swan has been drastically reorganised to create a
theatre-in-the round for Shakespeare’s three plays about the reign of Henry
VI. The audience surrounds the stage and the action frequently spills over
into the gangways and galleries. Actors climb into and out of pits beneath
the stage and, more frequently, descend from the flies on ropes and then
ascend again to disappear into the centre of the ceiling high above the
audience.
This radical staging somewhat belies the fact that, in all other ways, the production is very much in the current house-style of the RSC which its traditional audience will find familiar. Designer Tom Piper has opted for a 15th-century setting and that
standard style of medieval costume seen so often on the Stratford stages.
This is the first play of the Henry VI trilogy, and the grisly spectacle which opens it – of Henry V’s shrouded body being lowered into a smoking pit – is merely the prologue to a succession of battles, blood and violent deaths.
Henry VI Part 1 The War Against Francehas two main themes: the loss of English conquests in France,
largely thanks to the leadership of Joan of Arc; and the growth of two
factions in England – Lancaster and York, who pluck red and white roses to
wear as their emblems. By the end of the play, despite the defeat and death
of Joan, France is lost and England fatally divided.
This production gives you a strong sense of the RSC as a living company
in which new young talent works with and learns from experienced hands. The
young more than hold their own and two newcomers particularly catch the eye
– Fiona Bell and Sam Troughton. Bell as Joan of Arc, whom Shakespeare
portrays as a hateful witch, is vigorous and exciting. Just as Joan’s
approach challenged that of the traditional French army, so Bell’s
performance is fresh and direct in its style.
The contrast between old and new generations was most vivid in the
playing of Keith Bartlett as Old Talbot and Troughton as his son. Bartlett
is solid but vocally monotonous, whereas young Troughton engages the
audience’s sympathy and compassion in a performance which is both powerful
and moving.
But the enduring memory of the evening is the gymnastic heroics of
actors ascending and descending from the flies on ropes, in slings, on
siege-ladders. Used more sparingly, this could have been extremely effective
but, like a child with a new toy at Christmas, it seems that director
Michael Boyd was unable to resist using the device to excess.
Henry VI Part 1 The War Against France may not be Shakespeare’s greatest play, but this
exciting production makes the complex plot clear and holds the interest of
the audience, making them keen to return for more.
Henry VI Part 1 The War Against France continues in repertory at The Swan,
Stratford-upon-Avon, until 10 February 2001, then plays at the Power Center,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA 10-18 March, and at the Young Vic,
London 27 March to 25 May.
