Here is a review of Henry V as presented by the Bell Shakespeare Company in Perth last week. It was written by our redoutable president, Frances Dharmalingham.
The imaginative conception of framing the original drama in the context of the Blitz gave us, the audience, layers of meaning and heightened the significance of many incidents in quite extraordinary ways. The performance began with schoolchildren studying Shakespeare’s histories in their classroom literature lessons; soon they began the early exploration of the text, reading their parts not always expertly. Gradually we saw them becoming fine actors as they inhabited their characters and identified with those characters’ experiences; and finally we had the entirely convincing portrayal of Henry and his men during their French campaign.
This is much too facile an account, however.
The repeated bombing raids of the Blitz regularly brought the actors and the
audience back to the ‘present', so that
frequently we were watching a performer as both a schoolboy character and
simultaneously a Shakespearean character. There were times when the intensity of
a scene enabled the complete ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ — we were with
them in France — and other times when again we were back in the classroom
watching these youngsters wrestling with the ideas and feelings evoked by the
dual influences of the play and the real-life war.
For me, this layering was perhaps the most
fascinating aspect of the production, but there were so many features to admire
at the time and to enjoy in retrospect.
The set was brilliantly devised. Looking at
it before the play started, I wondered if it might be rather too small an
acting area, but of course it wasn’t: it was the classroom, but imagination
allows the action to spill out and beyond it! The broken windows and jagged
edges of half-demolished walls evoked many memories of old bomb sites, and the
bookcases with their shelves no longer parallel became the versatile basis of
any number of props as required. The sound and lighting were spectacular — the
absolute aural battering of the bombs and ack-ack guns, the chilling wail of
the sirens, and the sudden black-outs powerfully supported the established
setting.
The small cast were uniformly fine performers,
each, except for Michael Sheasby (understandably) as Henry, playing many parts.
They had hardly an opportunity to leave the stage as they shifted scenery
between assuming their different roles. It was altogether a great example of
true ensemble playing. The set changes were frequent and beautifully organised,
as the trusty bookcases and very few other furnishings were tipped and turned
and by sheer force of imagination turned into anything required; even, after
Harfleur, into the mud and mire of northern France as the troops struggled
towards Agincourt. Later, following the unexpected appearance of a downed
German airman, clever use was made of his parachute. The actors convincingly
suggested the youthfulness of upper secondary school pupils, but were skilled
in quickly assuming their many and varied roles within the main script. Their
basic school uniforms were very simply modified to suggest improvisation under
austerity conditions; the French identified by red and blue scarves, the
knights ready for battle with cardboard ‘armour’ round their knees and
shoulders. Princess Katherine’s frilled dress for the final scene, apparently
created from rows and rows of old exercise book pages, was quite charming and
served to underline the end of hostilities.
A makeshift trumpet was used to good effect
for formal and martial purposes, and strong drumming strengthened the urgency
of war preparations. Led by Drew Livingston, the actors sang well in the
opening scene with the church dignitaries and after Agincourt, and especially
in the moving finale.
By referring briefly to Richard II and
Henry IV, the introductory scene in the classroom gave a useful lead in to the
play, and this was cleverly followed up to explain the church’s concerns about
money, and the archbishop’s specious reasoning to justify war with France. This
is normally a particularly boring scene and is always going to be largely
incomprehensible, but by making it a brisk ‘chalk and talk' session the main point was
well conveyed, allowing the players to ease into their performance.
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| Monarchs to behold the swelling scene. Credit: Michele Mossop |
The order of the scenes was occasionally
interestingly re-arranged, and the choruses broken by the episodes to which the
words referred – a good way to avoid very long speeches, and maintain the
action. There were also some sensible cuts which I’m sure no-one would have
minded: the leek in the bonnet episode, and the Act V chorus in particular. An
addition was Katherine’s reference to Henry’s threats to the people of
Harfleur, as a justifiable way to explore her attitude towards him and to
marriage with him.
One of the most memorable moments came as
we were yet again returned to the pupils’ present time, with a particularly
intense bombing raid, a very near miss in fact, in which one of the boys (who
played The Boy) was injured. This led immediately into Henry’s speech: ‘I was
not angry since I came to France Until this instant’, referring to the
slaughter of the baggage boys. This was an electrifying response, as war and
its effects on innocent bystanders became real. I had a little difficulty with
the introduction of the German paratrooper, but perhaps he was there to provide
the schoolboys with a moment of direct confrontation with ‘the enemy’.
Following the epilogue, spoken by Keith
Agius with the same admirable clarity he brought to the choruses, the cast
(once again school pupils, having finished their study of the play) sang ‘I Vow
to Thee my Country’ simply but with stirring feeling. The play reminded me that
when literature is made relevant to life it can have profound influence.
This was a strikingly good production. The
actors performed with such passion, and between the high points the tension was
skilfully lowered with suitable pauses or light and spontaneous comedy. Given
that it was the final show of the Perth season, and followed an afternoon
matinee, they are all to be heartily congratulated on their never-flagging
energy. It was a performance to make me return to the text with pleasure and
new insights.
