Theatre / shakespeare at the tobacco factory
Preview: Henry V, Tobacco Factory Theatres
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory are returning to their home theatre with their first production of Shakespeare’s great history play.
A divided nation. Trouble on the continent. An ambitious young prince. Emerging from his wild youth with a sense of purpose and adventure, Henry V wages war on France with devastating efficiency. But at what cost? How can he be a good leader and a good man? What compromises must be made in the name of victory?
“Shakespeare’s play is a thrilling examination of the nature of power,” say the company. “It explores the burden of leadership and explodes the myth of heroism. It depicts the powerful and the powerless fighting side by side. With characters drawn from across the United Kingdom, the play is a democratic portrayal of the ruler and the ruled.”
is needed now More than ever
Here’s Ben Hall, who plays the valiant monarch and scourge of the French.
Tell us about Shakespeare’s Henry. The popular image of him is of a heroic warrior, and Agincourt still lives on in the national psyche as an example of British steeliness and heroism. Is Shakespeare’s character more nuanced than this?
I think there can be two images of Henry, one is the heroic and the other is the war criminal. What I love about Shakespeare’s version is he takes both these ideas, brings the dilemma of the man vs the crown to the forefront and by doing so makes him relatable. I think the steeliness and heroism is still there but there is a darker side to him and a vulnerability.
Does playing a real protagonist from our national history have different challenges than playing a fictional protagonist?
For me the challenge is always finding the truth of the character regardless of whether they existed or not. In Henry V Shakespeare merges history with fiction which gives a lot of space for interpretation, one of the tricky things is the perceived idea of what the character is, how far do you push that and challenge that.
Had you worked with stf before Henry V?
No I haven’t, I have wanted to work with them for a long time, STF have a wonderful reputation, its so lovely to walk into a room and have every voice heard, there is no hierarchy and I think it shows in the work, they manage to create such a generosity in spirit.
What sorts of thoughts do you think the play – and the production – invites? Thoughts about kingship, nationality (nationalism?), heroism, comradeship, etc?
We were very keen to start a debate: what is the nature of kingship and does it make you a good person, are there heroes in war? Again it was nice to look at the perceived idea of the play and try and make it more grounded and complicated.
There are no evil people in this production there are just difficult choices and mistakes made. War is complicated and messy, we really wanted to bring that to the surface, you may be victorious but you always lose something, whether that is humanity, pride or the loss of life.
Henry V is at Tobacco Factory Theatres from September 12 to October 6. For more information, visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/henry-v-william-shakespeare
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