Henry V – RSC, Stratford-Upon-Avon
A major power invading another country on a flimsy pretext. Does that sound familiar? The RSC’s new production of Shakespeare's Henry V has clear current political resonances. This production by the RSC's is superb, well directed, excellently acted and inventive. It uses Shakespeare's text and characters and is mercifully free of the gimmicks which some directors choose to put into the Bard's great works. It starts with a nod to continuity with the scene of the death of Henry IV from Henry IV Part Two. It then proceeds at ferocious pace, never flagging. It has been intelligently cut by the director, Tamara Harvey, to run for 2 hours 50 minutes including an interval and yet includes all the major events of the original text.
The cast make a superb ensemble. Many playing several parts. Th...
