This 2014 abridgement of both parts of Henry IV was the second in Phyllida Lloyd’s trilogy of all-female Shakespearean productions at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London—a groundbreaking series bookended by Julius Caesar (2012) and The Tempest (2016) that some initially derided as a gender-blind gimmick but most came to praise as not simply daringly imaginative but also extraordinarily powerful. Reduced to a compact two-hour format through a creative process involving the Clean Break drama company at Askham Grange Prison and York St. John University’s Prison Partnership Project, the composite play is conceived as being performed by incarcerated convicts who bring their varied accents and contemporary attitudes to the characters while conveying the theme of generational conflict between traditionalist father King Henry IV and his dissolute son Prince Hal, with the latter finally forced to assume his family responsibilities by confronting the rebel Hotspur and dissociating himself from his long-time partner in revelry, Falstaff. Under Lloyd’s imaginative direction, the play—performed in the round with grubby costumes and only minimal (and humorously improvised) bits of stage paraphernalia—generates extraordinary tension, largely due to the intense performances by Harriet Walter (Henry IV), Clare Dunne (Hal), and Jade Anouka (Hotspur), along with a knockabout comic turn as Falstaff by Sophie Stanton (who also musters the necessary pathos). The result is a paradoxically virile take on the play, even becoming a commentary on machismo in the combat sequences between Hal and Hotspur that are here presented as boxing matches. While clearly not a traditional version of Henry IV, this is a refreshing and effective rethinking. Extras include an introduction to the play, audio commentary by Lloyd, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a cast gallery. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)
Henry IV
(2014) 131 min. DVD: $24.99. Opus Arte (dist. by Naxos of America). Volume 34, Issue 5
Henry IV
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