Henry IV, Part 1
2014: Gregory Doran

This is a production from the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2014. Its production design and casting is consistent and continuous with the following Henry IV, Part 2 and the Henry V of 2015.

Unlike a number of other tendentious and politicized recent productions from the RSC, this one focuses on the story and its characters, and it’s eminently watchable and well acted. Some of the parts are, inevitably, more interesting than others.

The two standout performances here are Alex Hassell as Prince Hal and Antony Sher as Falstaff. Hassell expresses the quicksilver changeability of the character with good humor and a sense of the underlying preoccupation with self-presentation. He keeps the viewer off balance, never knowing entirely what his program is, and where his sincerity — if there is any — lies. His character continues to unfold through the Henry V, and the sequence is worth watching. Sher’s Falstaff may not suit all viewers. He’s less merry and more querulous than most others; his tone is always infected with a certain petulant whine. For all that, however, he plays the part richly and interestingly.

Less impressive, perhaps, is Jasper Britton as Henry IV himself. He projects an oddly lapidary presence, and seems mostly there to scold prince Hal. That is a risk built into the play, but its need not be expressed so monochromatically. Other presentations of the king bring more nuance — especially in the form of sadness and reflectiveness — into the role.

Similarly I found Trevor White as Hotspur something of a disappointment. Hotspur is of course largely set up as a foil to Prince Hal, both in the king’s eyes and in ours, but that still allows some variation in his demeanor. Here he contrasts with an interesting Hal chiefly by being tiresome. Hotspur is almost definitionally an arrogant and fiery character, but he need not be angry with everyone all the time. Here he seems to be like the playground bully who is eager to impress everyone else with his dominance by sneering and storming. He is happily angry when he anticipates crushing his foes, and unhappily angry on most other occasions, but the angry part doesn’t actually vary much, even with his longsuffering wife. Accordingly he moves from sneer to snarl to gloat without much change other than producing the occasional shout whenever he wants to ratchet up his game. I’m not sure whether this is a function of the actor or the direction, but I don’t find it particularly effective. It’s a valid interpretation of Hotspur, I guess, but it’s just rather boring after a while. He is potentially an interesting character; it is telling that Hal respects him as much as he does. Here he invites less sympathy and admiration than any other I have seen.

Antony Byrne, a versatile regular with the RSC who has played a number of different roles in recent years, including Antony and Cleopatra (2017), plays Worcester with some nuance. Paola Dionisotti also offers us a Mistress Quickly who seems austere and almost matronly, which is at least a different approach than the usual.

I have grown wary of the RSC productions over recent years; many of them seem to be willing to torpedo Shakespeare’s drama in the interest of making a political statement or signaling virtue to allies. This performance, however, is a solid presentation of the play that deserves to be seen and studied with some attention.

Buy Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, Special Edition from Amazon.