Henry V

Presented at the Shire Hall, Lancaster Castle, 29th May – 1st June 2024

Here is the production’s Programme (scan of original) which you may wish to download before watching the filmed performance.

Shakespeare’s Henry V  (1599) dramatizes the English campaign to France, culminating in the famous Battle of Agincourt (1415). Our 2024 production asked audiences to judge:

Does Henry V appear as a patriotic ‘mirror of all Christian kings‘ ?
OR
as a Machiavellian war criminal bringing ‘famine, sword and fire‘?
Or both?

Note: An overview of the play can be found on the Plot summary page.

Staging Henry V in Shire Hall Lancaster Castle’s historic courtroom puts the king and the play on trial.

Curtain call, Henry V (Lancaster Castle’s Shire Hall, 2024)

Lancaster Castle has been the site of court proceedings, for centuries, and remains a working court. The historic Shire Hall courtroom with a judges’ bench, jury and witness boxes, and semi-circular public viewing gallery was an ideal venue to put Henry V and its king on trial to be judged by audiences. You can join them in making your own judgement by watching the filmed recording and voting, as they did, at the end.

 

 

 

 

Henry V (Part 1, pre-interval)

As you watch Part 1 of the play, think about:

1) What the churchmen think about Henry and about war with France.
2) The boy’s comments on the realities of war.
3) The patriotism of the Chorus.
4) The four British captains.

Henry V (Part 2, post-interval)

As you watch the second half of the play, reflect on:

1) Henry’s encouragement and threats at Harfleur.
2) The ‘enemy’ French nobles.
3) How the Battle of Agincourt is presented and how does Henry treat prisoners?
4) Henry’s encounter with the common soldiers, especially Williams.
5) How Henry makes peace and what he achieves according to the Chorus.

Now it’s time to cast your vote! Select the response below that best reflects how you thought the text represented the king and then press the ‘Submit’ button.

Note: After you’ve submitted your vote, you’ll be taken to a page showing how people at the live performance, just before the UK General Election, voted to see how that compares.

Make your selection

 

Verification

Follow our Rehearsal Process with interviews from actors.

Studying Henry V? Go to our resources page ‘Never was Such a Sudden scholar made’.

See how the play compares to the earlier dramatization of Edward III by looking at our2023 production.