Henry IV, Part 2
1979: David Giles
This is the continuation of the Henry IV, Part 1 in the BBC series (also 1979, David Giles); there is a continuity of players between the two, and most of what I have said about them there can be applied here as well. Perhaps more importantly, there is a continuity of vision between the two. Precisely how the two plays fit together is not wholly obvious, and that’s one of the problems with them. But each pair of productions must figure out how to manage the fusion. Giles’ approach here is to embrace the conflicts and confusions of the plays and their characters, and I think that is the most profitable and richest path to follow.
Here Gwillim’s Prince Hal and Jon Finch carry their roles and their relationship with considerable subtlety. The most interesting dramatic nexus of the play, arguably, is the scene near the end where Hal takes the crown for himself before the king is actually dead; the ensuing wrangling between the two of them is a study in dramatic ambiguity, leaving their respective motives open to a variety of possible constructions and interpretations. It also motivates Henry’s later eagerness to defend his name and title in Henry V.
The bit at the end where Hal finally cuts his ties with Falstaff (and the rest of his quondam rowdy companions) is likewise sharply played and powerfully convincing, motivating the reports about Falstaff’s death that crop up in his absence in Henry V. It is played without affected emotion, but not without a real sense of its melancholy.
Without further elaboration, I can say that this and its companion Part 1 are a sound base of interpretation by which to measure any other production of the Henry IV plays.
Bardolph: Gordon Gostelow
Davy: Raymond Platt
Doll Tearsheet: Frances Cuka
Earl of Northumberland: Bruce Purchase
Earl of Warwick: Rod Beacham
Earl of Westmoreland: David Buck
Fang: Frederick Proud
Francis Feeble: John Tordoff
Gower: Brian Poyser
Henry, Prince of Wales: David Gwillim
Justice Robert Shallow: Robert Eddison
Justice Silence: Leslie French
King Henry the Fourth: Jon Finch
Lady Northumberland: Jenny Laird
Lady Percy: Michele Dotrice
Lord Bardolph: John Humphry
Lord Chief Justice: Ralph Michael
Lord Hastings: Richard Bebb
Lord Mowbray: Michael Miller
Messenger: Colin Dunn
Mistress Quickly: Brenda Bruce
Morton: Carl Oatley
Page to Sir John Falstaff: John Fowler
Peter Bullcalf: Roger Elliott
Peto: Steven Beard
Pistol: Bryan Pringle
Poins: Jack Galloway
Prince Humphrey: Martin Neil
Prince John: Rob Edwards
Ralph Mouldy: Julian Battersby
Scroop: David Neal
Servant: Tim Brown
Simon Shadow: Roy Herrick
Sir John Colville: Salvin Stewart
Sir John Falstaff: Anthony Quayle
Thomas, Duke of Clarence: Roger Davenport
Thomas Wart: Alan Collins
Travers: David Strong
Buy the complete BBC Shakespeare Plays at Amazon. Note that this will require a Region 2 player or a region-free player: it will not play on most normal American DVD players. Nevertheless, the price is so reasonable that even with a region-free player thrown into the deal, you’ll come out ahead.
Buy the BBC Shakespeare Plays Histories Giftbox at Amazon. Unlike the complete series, this is in a North American video format, and it includes five plays: Richard II, Henry IV, Part I, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, and Richard III.
Buy the complete set of the BBC Shakespeare Plays or individual plays (including this one) in Region 1 format direct from Ambrose Video.