Full of contradictions and emotional roller
coasters, Shakespeare’s master pieces Henry IV Parts1 and 2, were performed
for the Barbican audiences entertainment yesterday and I was lucky enough to be
there to experience it - warts and all... We were off to
a cracking start as Henry IV encouraging his Lords and whipped them up into a lather of enthusiasm to ride forth and conquor the Holy Lands. Then the lights dimmed and the bubble burst
as a stage manager came out and explained that there were technical
difficulties involving stage hydraulics...
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| Jasper Britton as Henry IV |
Half an hour later (and technical
difficulties not overcome) we were back from the foyer (full of graduates in
gowns with proud relatives) to the Eastcheap establishment of Mistress
Quickly. There’s lots of upping and
downing movements from a large bed (centre stage) with accompanying groans. Then
two scantily clad women jump out and run off and out pops Prince Hal in boxer
shorts. “Sorry for the delay folks” he
grinned, “I was having technical difficulties”.
Trust the RSC to make a problem an opportunity; we all loved it! Next, Falsvtaff jumps out from his hiding
place at the foot of the bed and the play is off on its upward trajectory of
fun, poignancy – thrills and intrigue.
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| Antony Sher (Falstaff) and Alex Hassell (Prince Hal) |
Jasper Britton is a brilliant, emotionally volatile
and doting father to Alex Hassell’s Prince Hal.
Throughout Henry IV 1 and 2
Henry and Hal play out their emotional tug of war comprised of duty and
ego. Henry is riven with self doubt and
guilt about his usurpation of the throne.
Hal is just young and carefree and appears to ignore the pain he is
causing his father by his rebellious lifestyle.
Both actors manage to win the audience to their own sides throughout the
afternoon and evening, as neither is wholly right nor wholly wrong!
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| Alex Hassell (Prince Hal) Jasper Britton (Henry IV) |
Falstaff knits the whole narrative together
and manages to be lovable, evil, gross and funny but ultimately tragic. Shakespeare plays with the audience and this
interpretation (and with the help of brilliant actors) brings out the subtly of
the script – taking us with Falstaff and Hal through their trials and
tribulations always managing to wrong-foot our assumptions. Interwoven with these two superb characters
are the men and their women folk who act out the subplot of civil
uprising.
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| Jennifer Kirby (Lady Percy) Trevor White (Hotspur) Leigh Quinn (Lady Mortimer) Robert Gilbert (Lord Mortimer) |
Shakepeare’s plays, as always, are
multilayered and running alongside the politics and battles are the intricacies
of the lives of those caught up in the slipstream. Mistress Quickly is one such character and Paola Dionisotti plays the part as though
born for it (no insult intended) and indeed, as with Antony Sher’s Falstaff, it seems
impossible after this that any other actor could be Mistress Quickly. She is caught up and tossed around by the course
of events and manipulated like a ragdoll by Falstaff. Paola accentuates this vulnerability by seeming
to be frail and defeated even when at points she is futilely trying to stand up
for herself.
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| Paolo Dionisotti (Mistress Quickly Antony Sher (Falstaff) |
By the end of the day we are watching the
transformation of the adolesent into a man.
Sir John Falstaff facing a future without hope of influence, knowing he
is forbidden to come within 10 miles of his former protegé. It has to be but a big part of us does not
want it to be...
All in all an excellent play-day out at the Barbican - where acts of God are routinely taken in their stride. All hail Prince Hal!
