Main House
The Peter Hall Company 2011
Henry IV Part 1
by William Shakespeare, directed by Peter Hall, in repertory with This Happy Breed
7 July - 13 August 2011
Tom Mison, Desmond Barrit
Tom Mison
Desmond Barrit
Ben Mansfield, Katie Lightfoot
David Yelland
Overview
Please note: the time of the matinee performance of Henry IV Part 1 on Saturday August 13 is now 3.30pm
Thrilling, funny and majestic by turns, Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays are both a drama of family life and a great English epic, which chronicles the complex relationships between fathers and sons, be they kings and princes, heroes or villains.
Henry IV encompasses the entire panorama of English life, from the sleazy taverns of Eastcheap to the stately splendour of the royal court, where a host of huge personalities ranges from Shakespeare’s greatest comic creation, Falstaff to the schemer Hal and the dazzling and honour-obsessed Hotspur.
Desmond Barrit is an Olivier Award winning actor who has worked extensively for the RSC and the National Theatre. Roles range from Bottom on Broadway to Toad at the National Theatre. Recent work includes The History Boys, The Habit of Art and Wicked. In 2001 he received an Olivier Award nomination for his performance as Falstaff in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 for the RSC.
In Part 1, Prince Hal idles away his time in the Boar’s Head Tavern in the company of Falstaff and his cronies, to the despair of his father, the King. On the other side of the country, Henry Percy and his son Hotspur, are spearheading a plot to usurp the throne. The play culminates on the battle fields of Shrewsbury where all face death and it looks as if Falstaff has met his maker.
By the start of Part 2, Falstaff, resurrected as an army captain, is attempting to recruit a regiment from the dregs of society. The transition of Prince Hal from wastrel to heir apparent begins, and on his father’s death bed he promises redemption. In a devastating finale, Falstaff, greeting his old friend the new monarch, is rejected.
Peter Hall’s 1963-64 staging of the Wars of the Roses Cycle, which inaugurated the RSC and which includes the Henry plays, is one of the great landmark productions of Shakespeare’s work.
Both parts of Henry IV may be enjoyed independently.
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The Royal Crescent Hotel is the sponsor of The Peter Hall Company 2011.
Reviews
Back to topPeter Hall...a master at work on a masterpiece. I cannot recommend Hall’s Henry IV too highly
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Daily Telegraph
An exhilarating production, an astonishing company...Peter Hall has realised to perfection the twin summits of Shakespeare’s genius
Desmond Barrit’s endlessly delightful Falstaff
Sir Peter Hall’s production of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I is impeccable on every level. Combining superlative acting and a sumptuous production design that avoids excess, this is Shakespeare as it should be performed
