Henry V

Shakespeare's 1598 history play about the titular young 15th-century English king—focusing on events surrounding the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War—has been the subject of well-regarded films by Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh, as well as numerous excellent stage productions. Add to the list this 2015 performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-Upon-Avon, which completes the trilogy begun by director Gregory Doran with his superb Henry IV Parts I & II (VL-7/15). Alex Hassell, who embodied the hedonism of Prince Hal in the earlier installments, here makes the transition to purposeful monarch upon the death of his father. Hassell doesn't boast the résumé of Olivier or Branagh, and his reading of the famous St. Crispin's Day speech doesn't match their rhetorical fervor, but his more boyish interpretation is no less compelling, and the rest of the large cast is excellent mostly across the board. One might find Robert Gilbert's very effete French Dauphin a bit too broad, but Oliver Ford Davies—looking grandfatherly in a simple modern cardigan—brings particular gravitas to the Chorus. The costuming is otherwise in period style, while a small band provides music for the scene transitions. Overall, this is a robust staging of one of the Bard's most popular plays, and while it won't efface memories of earlier stellar versions, it certainly earns its place alongside them. Extras include audio commentary by Doran, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a cast gallery. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)