Henry V: The 30-Minute Shakespeare
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Henry V: The 30-Minute Shakespeare Details
About the Author Nick Newlin: Nick Newlin has been a performer, writer and arts educator for international audiences for 30 years. Since 1996, he has conducted an annual Play Directing residency affiliated with the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. Nick has a BA from Harvard University with Honors 1982 and an MA in Theater from The University of Maryland with an emphasis on Play Directing. Read more Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Characters in the Play The following is a list of characters that appear in this cutting of Henry V. Fifteen actors appeared in the original production. The number can be increased to about thirty or decreased to about eight by having actors share or double roles. For the full breakdown of characters, see Sample Program. BISHOP OF CANTERBURY BISHOP OF ELY KING HENRY V: The young, recently crowned king of England DUKE OF EXETER: Uncle to the king EARL OF WESTMORELAND: Cousin to the king AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE BARDOLPH PISTOL NYM BOY CAPTAIN FLUELLEN: Officer in the king’s army KATHERINE of france: Young princess of France ALICE: A gentlewoman waiting on Katherine SIR THOMAS ERPINGHAM: Soldier in the king’s army MICHAEL WILLIAMS: Soldier in the king’s army KING OF FRANCE: King Charles VI Former companions to Henry, now in his army Powerful and wealthy English clergymen ✴✴SCENE 1. (Act I, prologue | Act 1, Scene I) London. The king’s palace. Enter CHOR US, forming a tight circle facing each other. One by one, chorus members leave the circle, speak their line, and go to either stage right or stage left. Ultimately, this will form a wide “V” shape, with chorus members facing the audience. CHORUS O, for a muse of fire that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention! A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port of Mars, and at his heels, Leashed in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire crouch for employment. Suppose within the girdle of these walls Are now confined two mighty monarchies, Whose high uprearèd and abutting fronts (ALL raise arms up) The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder. (ALL bring arms down and out to sides) Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them Printing their proud hoofs i’ th’ receiving earth, For ’tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings. Exit ALL except bishops of cANTERB URY and ELY . 2 ✴ henry V CANTERB URY and ELY walk downstage center conspiratorially, looking around. Stagehand sets chair/throne upstage center behind the BISHO PS. BISHOP OF CANTERBURY The King is full of grace and fair regard. BISHOP OF ELY And a true lover of the holy Church. BISHOP OF CANTERBURY List his discourse of war, and you shall hear A fearful battle rendered you in music; Enter EXETER and WES TMOREL AND from upstage right. They walk upstage left, conversing, then exit stage left. In passing, they give a quick glance to ELY and CANTERB URY . (whispering) I have made an offer to his Majesty― As touching France―to give a greater sum Than ever at one time the clergy yet Did to his predecessors part withal. The French ambassador is come to give him hearing. Characters in the Play The following is a list of characters that appear in this cutting of Henry V. Fifteen actors appeared in the original production. The number can be increased to about thirty or decreased to about eight by having actors share or double roles. For the full breakdown of characters, see Sample Program. BISHOP OF CANTERBURY BISHOP OF ELY KING HENRY V: The young, recently crowned king of England DUKE OF EXETER: Uncle to the king EARL OF WESTMORELAND: Cousin to the king AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE BARDOLPH PISTOL NYM BOY CAPTAIN FLUELLEN: Officer in the king’s army KATHERINE of france: Young princess of France ALICE: A gentlewoman waiting on Katherine SIR THOMAS ERPINGHAM: Soldier in the king’s army MICHAEL WILLIAMS: Soldier in the king’s army KING OF FRANCE: King Charles VI Former companions to Henry, now in his army Powerful and wealthy English clergymen ✴✴SCENE 1. (Act I, prologue | Act 1, Scene I) London. The king’s palace. Enter CHOR US, forming a tight circle facing each other. One by one, chorus members leave the circle, speak their line, and go to either stage right or stage left. Ultimately, this will form a wide “V” shape, with chorus members facing the audience. CHORUS O, for a muse of fire that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention! A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port of Mars, and at his heels, Leashed in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire crouch for employment. Suppose within the girdle of these walls Are now confined two mighty monarchies, Whose high uprearèd and abutting fronts (ALL raise arms up) The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder. (ALL bring arms down and out to sides) Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them Printing their proud hoofs i’ th’ receiving earth, For ’tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings. Exit ALL except bishops of cANTERB URY and ELY . 2 ✴ henry V CANTERB URY and ELY walk downstage center conspiratorially, looking around. Stagehand sets chair/throne upstage center behind the BISHO PS. BISHOP OF CANTERBURY The King is full of grace and fair regard. BISHOP OF ELY And a true lover of the holy Church. BISHOP OF CANTERBURY List his discourse of war, and you shall hear A fearful battle rendered you in music; Enter EXETER and WES TMOREL AND from upstage right. They walk upstage left, conversing, then exit stage left. In passing, they give a quick glance to ELY and CANTERB URY . (whispering) I have made an offer to his Majesty― As touching France―to give a greater sum Than ever at one time the clergy yet Did to his predecessors part withal. The French ambassador is come to give him hearing. teachers, for helping a class actively participate in the process of getting to know a Shakespeare play. For more simple theater games, Viola Spolin’s Theatre Games for the Classroom is very helpful, as is one I use frequently, Theatre Games for Young Performers. ✴✴ Performance Notes: Henry V Scene 1 (Act I, prologue) The play begins with a military drumbeat played by a Chorus member. The cast is dressed in simple black, entering from both sides of the stage and forming a tight group facing into themselves. They chant in a kind of low rumble, using words that include “war, war,” “I’m not ready to die,” and “monarch.” This has the effect of introducing the Chorus as central to the play. Out of that group emerges the first speaker, who utters the immortal first line: “Oh for a muse of fire that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention!” The Chorus stands in a V-shaped line facing front, and each member recites a line from the speech. It is a striking beginning to the play and gives each actor an immediate role. The audience receives multiple voices, timbres, pitches, and line interpretations. The play is a group effort from the start. In our production, the actors immediately fell to a common malady: “upstage creep.” The Folger stage has two pillars on either side of the stage at about the centerline. I always instruct the actors to place themselves downstage of the pillars for greater visibility and presence. However, because they were beginning actors at a one-time festival performance and we had never rehearsed on that stage, their tendency was to physically “retreat” from the audience. Many of you reading this may have already rehearsed on the same stage where you will perform. In rehearsal, I sometimes set up chairs to represent the pillars on the Folger stage. If I had addressed this tendency toward upstage creep and used chairs or other barriers to keep students further downstage, I might have avoided this 50 ✴ henry V unfortunate tendency. Often we do not learn from our mistakes until after the fact! In my case, having experienced the same issue before, I could have tried to nip it in the bud earlier in the rehearsal process. Next time! The Chorus speaks some of the lines to the opening speech as an ensemble, lifting their arms up together on “Whose high uprearèd and abutting fronts” and bringing them back down and to the sides as if parting the seas on “The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder.” Simple ensemble gestures and tableaux go far in enhancing Shakespeare’s vivid words. The entire Chorus exits to the same military drumbeat, nicely framing the scene and reinforcing the military tone of the play. In our production, the “upstage creep” carried over into the second part of the scene. The Bishops of Canterbury and Ely placed themselves upstage of the throne instead of in front of it, which affected both visibility and audibility. Especially with young actors, players should ensure that they are both seen and heard, and directors must continually stress this key point! Because my actors were so far upstage, when Exeter and Westmoreland walked by the two bishops, they walked in front of them instead of behind them, thus literally upstaging them. Exeter and Westmoreland should slow their gait and glance with concealed interest at the two bishops, who should remain silent for a few seconds to allow for the moment of mystery this scene entails. Make sure your actors know that their words, gestures, facial expressions, and movements all advance the plot and create a mood, in this case one of dramatic tension and secrecy. In this scene, Canterbury is describing a financial offer the clergy made to Henry, one he wishes to keep secret from Exeter and Westmoreland. If the actors are fully aware of these details of plot and motivation, they will be better armed to tell the tale that Shakespeare weaves with his words. To this end, the actor playing Bishop of Canterbury in our production delivered a pitch perfect “stage whisper.” (Newlin Henry V: The 30-Minute Shakespeare) Read more
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