The Wars of the Roses (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
April 29, 2022
In the foyers of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Jack Cade’s face stared out from wanted posters. As the production itself began, Aaron Sidwell’s rebel stumbled across the stage, followed by the roaring mob who Clifford and Buckingham had earlier sent after their erstwhile leader. They caught and tore apart Cade bodily on the stage, holding …
Henry VI (Shakespeare’s Globe) @ The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
November 16, 2019
NB: This review is based on a preview performance. Henry VI, the fifth entry in the Globe’s 2019 Histories Cycle, was a production of compromises, if not a compromised production. Reuniting the ensemble that performed 1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV and Henry V over the summer (with a couple of replacement members), the decision …
Queen Margaret @ The Royal Exchange, Manchester
September 22, 2018
The idea of rewriting Shakespeare’s first tetralogy to focus on the character of Queen Margaret – the only character to appear alive in all four plays – is a good one, though not original; Charlene Smith’s research has found some twenty-six, with more doubtless to be turned up. Still, it’s rare for one to come …
The Wars of the Roses (RSC/Illuminations) on DVD
July 20, 2016
The Wars of the Roses is one of those iconic productions – like Peter Brook’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream – that I never expected to get a chance to watch in full. Peter Hall and John Barton’s three-part condensation of the first tetralogy of history plays was one of the resounding triumphs of the young …
Kings of War (Toneelgroep Amsterdam) @ The Barbican Theatre
May 1, 2016
In 2009 I was lucky enough to see Toneelgroep Amsterdam perform Ivo van Hove’s Roman Tragedies at the Barbican. That mammoth reworking of Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra remains one of my lifetime theatrical highlights – not just for its length and ambition, but for its cohesive use of space, its innovative flexibility …
An Age of Kings (BBC/Illuminations)
December 27, 2013
In 1960, the BBC undertook an extraordinary project. Shakespeare’s eight history plays covering the reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III were broadcast in fifteen hour-long episodes with a single ensemble company. Rehearsed quickly and recorded live, the films have been unavailable commercially until now, …
The True Tragedy of The Duke of York (Shakespeare’s Globe) @ York Theatre Royal
July 7, 2013
3 Henry VI is perhaps the hardest play in the canon to begin, starting as it does with the explosion of the Yorks into the Lancastrian throne room. Nick Bagnall had his actors begin standing with the audience before the proscenium arch, then pulling themselves onto the stage in a rather weak movement. This was, …
Henry VI Part III: The Chaos (Young Rep) @ The Door, Birmingham Repertory Theatre
July 13, 2008
It’s not unprecedented to produce one part of the Henry VI trilogy in isolation, but it’s an extremely rare occurrence and a financial gamble that few professional theatre companies can afford to take – who’s going to come and see just one part of a trilogy? Yet for their latest production the Young REP have …
Henry VI Part III (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre: Highlights
March 3, 2008
Still full of adrenaline from the ending of the previous part (God only knows how the actors were getting through the day!), I approached Part III with admittedly very high expectations. Happily, they were all met in a fantastic climax to the day. One of my main highlights of this production was Keith Dunphy as …
Henry VI Part III (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 20, 2006
It’s been a busy week for me in Stratford- ‘2 Henry VI’ and ‘Capulets and Montagues’ on Wednesday, long public transport nightmare trip on Friday, ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ yesterday and today, my second viewing of ‘3 Henry VI’. I’m quite glad I decided to see the Henries individually as well as the whole day event- …
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