Funny how knowledge of Shakespeare is shaped by which play you study at school. For me, this was The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet (thank goodness). Later came the discovery of King Lear, Othello, Macbeth; and now as editor of Ink Pellet, I have been fortunate enough to see many more (Much Ado, The Tempest and Twelfth Night, to name a few).
But the Histories always eluded me. So I was expecting a heavy night at the packed Marlowe Theatre for this Royal Shakespeare Company touring production of Henry IV part 1, directed by Gregory Doran. How wrong one can be. This is a great story, great fun and a deliberately slanted view of this controversial history of the monarchy, as historian Ian Mortimer explains in his useful programme notes.
Henry had been on the throne for four years having deposed Richard II, his cousin and rightful monarch, when he received a letter from his old ally Henry Percy demanding money claimed to be owed to the earl and his son. The row led to a battle in which both Henry and Hotspur were killed. Two hundred years later, Shakespeare presented the strictly Elizabethan view of Henry as an upstart.
Elizabeth considered Henry IV ‘persona non grata’ so the playwright had to tackle the history in a different way. By focusing on the people around him, we are presented with a court that is sometimes chaotic and a king at the mercy of intrigues and plots.
And a great insight into the debauchery in hostelries and 15th centrury life. This production was colourful, with a great pace and clever, lavish set.
It does help that you have Antony Sher playing Sir John Falstaff, wonderfully supported by Jasper Britton as Henry IV and Alex Hassell as Prince Hal. The amazing Paola Dionisotti deserves a mention too – brilliant!
What didn’t quite work was Trevor White’s Hotspur which teetered precariously close to Rik Mayall’s Blackadder character Flashheart at times and having the house lights on was exceptionally distracting. I want to be immersed in the action, not be diverted by the people in rows ahead.
It is great to see a packed regional theatre audience enjoying Shakespeare. This tour has taken in Salford, Newcastle, Bradford, Salford, Bath and Norwich. Both parts I and II run at the Barbican until January 24.