PART 1 – Harry the Sixth

The company of the Globe Theatre on Tour is at Oxford this week with performances of Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Parts 1-3

This evening’s play is Harry the Sixth, which begins with the death of King Henry V and the ascension to the throne of the young Henry VI. The coffin of Henry V dominates the stage of this performance throughout the first act, and symbolizes the mighty presence of the old king. By contrast, his son is a figure of fun; despite lending his name to the play, Henry VI is portrayed by Graham Butler as a slightly pathetic character – his robes are too big, and he spends much of the play sitting on a throne which reaches the theatre’s rafters (he’ll certainly never fill that position). He barely speaks, and when he does, it is under the influence of his courtiers. Butler has a marvelous stage presence; although his lines are few, and mainly in the second half, the audience is always aware that he is on-stage, yet he doesn’t pull focus from the other characters – he has a rare talent for balance.

The set was, as I have come to expect from the Globe, excellent. The actors clambered around the stage on ladders, platforms, and thrones. Costume changes took place at the back of the stage, behind the action. Each of the actors gave strong performances, although I felt that Joan of Arc had a shrillness which alienated me a little from her character.

This play incorporates many characters and a great deal of action into just over two hours, so I would recommend that a potential audience member read a brief synopsis of the play in advance. At times the pace of the production left me behind, scrambling to collect my thoughts and understand what had just happened. Perhaps this is a failing in my own historical knowledge, but I would have found it useful to know roughly what was happening so I could let myself enjoy Shakespeare’s words.

Overall, I felt that this was an enjoyable production, with lots of well-staged sword-fighting, some lovely choral music, and lashings of personal and political intrigue. The ending came a little suddenly, and felt somewhat anticlimactic, but I’m sure this is because really this is the beginning of the rest of the tale. I think I’ll have to go back tomorrow night to find out what happened next!     – @bookingaround

PART 2 –  The Houses of York and Lancaster

Previously: Lancastrian Bolingbroke deposes effete cousin, Richard II and becomes Henry IV whose son Henry V dies suddenly, after an illustrious military career across the channel, to leave toddler Henry VI in charge of merrie England with help from uncles, the Dukes John (Bedford) and Humphrey (Gloucester). Quarrels break out, the church gets involved and France goes pear shaped. Talbot salvages English pride, gets caught, released, fights on. Burgundy changes sides urged on by Joan of Arc and Talbot dies after the squabbling aristocracy fail to send reinforcements.  Fortunes pick up, Joan gets captured and roasted.  Suffolk fancies Margaret of Anjou and persuades limp Henry to marry her to seal a peace whilst himself gaining power and nookie on the side (or nookie and power on the side).

Well, how do you get stable government out of that mess? The short answer, Shakespeare thumps home, is that you don’t.  It’s not that England doesn’t have the right sort of stuff: Gary Cooper’s solid, dependable, wise and patriotic Gloucester (he is after all brother to the redoubtable Henry V), played with a clarity that reveals all those qualities, is the model of the perfect ruler.  The problem of course is when all the bloodline stuff gets in the way.  Yesterday’s solutions become today’s problems.  Add a pushy, scheming French trollop into the mix and there’s bound to be trouble.  Mary Doherty’s imperious, manipulative Margaret hits the ground running on arrival in England, from which point Henry stands little chance of staying in control.

The conflict-hating, kindly, pious Henry of history is played as pretty much on the edge of (his future) breakdown in Graham Butler’s interpretation.  This gives director, Nick Bagnall, a little more colour to play with than a simply weak, goody goody King.  In the main the director handles the fast moving action with skill, but with so much going on things get overlooked as when Somerset announces the loss of France as if relaying that a couple of eggs had been dropped in the kitchen.  Nor was I convinced by the comic beheading of Suffolk at the end of act I.  I can see the point of the ,’ Well what’s another death when things fall apart’, approach, but if that is the intention you need to buy the laugh with a bit more groundwork.

One of the delights in this production is Brendan O’Hea’s delightfully Machiavellian York.  I’m reminded of Tynan’s remark about Alec McCowen’s ‘high definition’ acting, which he (O’Hea) brings to bear notably in the slightly chilling yet (for us) funny genealogical defense of his own claim to the throne. (I very nearly followed it.)  It made me realize how much ‘presence’ can be obtained by clarity on stage.

Also very watchable is Beatriz Romilly, whose dangerously ambitious Duchess of Gloucester, particularly in exile, runs through a vivid palette of emotions and mirrors the king in being on the edge of breakdown.

When there’s trouble at the top the canker spreads throughout the kingdom and at the beginning of act two the populist, Jack Cade, gives us a glimpse into the abyss.  Roger Evans clearly enjoyed the transition from bluff Suffolk to sinister Cade and I thought he felt more comfortable in the second skin that the first (although I overheard someone at the end saying they preferred his Suffolk).

Of course all this takes place in a time when the church very much had its snout in the trough of power politics and Mike Grady’s Bishop perfectly captures that hypocrisy of appearing to be above it all whilst actually being a prime mover.

Overall, Nick Bagnall’s production does justice to what is a complex plot.  The best testament to this is the fact that modern parallels come easily to mind: the collapse of order in the Middle East, for example, as brutal tyrants are ousted with no solid structures to take their place. In short this is a play (and cycle) which is never likely to be irrelevant.  Also, given the dangers of incessant infighting, It wouldn’t be stretching the point to say this production should be required watching before every party conference.  – Graham Wyles