Ask any Brit his favorite monarch and he's sure to name Henry V, the king who defeated the vastly superior (in numbers) French at the battle of Agincourt. Henry captured the imagination of his subjects by his youth and vitality, not to mention his rather wild days frequenting the taverns of London where he hobnobbed with the hoi polloi in the company of the drunken fat knight, Sir John Falstaff.
Indeed, in subsequent centuries, Shakespeare's eponymous play has served a variety of ends. To the Elizabethans, Henry V embodied English values triumphant over their traditional enemies, the foppish French. In 1940, Sir Laurence Olivier's film version glorified war and the patriotism exhibited by the British during the German blitz. And Sir Kenneth Branagh's 1989 adaptation showed war in a far less romantic light, complete with mud and gore, turning it into an anti-war/buddy movie.
Now, the Two River Theater Company has produced a Henry V for the 21st century, an introspective study of the nature of leadership, a topic that seems to be much on everyone's mind during this election season. Here, the battles are thrilling, the machinations of old warmongers are self-serving, and the king is so sympathetic and, at times, charming that we find ourselves rooting for the English to win, even when, almost 600 years to the day after it occurred—October 25—we already know the battle's outcome!
The play is usually labeled a “history” play, but Shakespeare plays fast and loose with some of the details, collapsing time, making sure the French nobles appear ridiculous and providing scenes that appear in no history book. Against overwhelming odds, newly-crowned Henry leads his troops against the larger, more unified French army to assert his right to the French crown through his mother. The cause is ridiculous, but the Church supports the war, hoping to derail an embarrassing proposal to cut their revenues. The nobles are eager for a fight and the profits which may follow, and some lowly foot soldiers have joined to support their ruler. At the battle of Agincourt, Henry rallies his men, defeats the French and cements his place in history.
Under Michael Sexton's intelligent, skilled direction, Jacob Fishel (right)turns in a masterful performance as Henry: ruthless with traitors, compassionate toward his frightened soldiers, and merciless ordering the death of enemy prisoners in reprisal for the slaughter of defenseless English boys guarding the luggage in the rear. When he declares that ceremony is all that separates him from other men, we ache for him, and learning the successful outcome of the battle, we share his exhaustion and elation. Wooing Princess Katherine, he is awkward with the courtly language, and when he calls on his men to join him in battle, we want to spring to our feet and enlist!
The large cast of characters is well served by actors doubling (and sometimes tripling) in various roles As the voice of the playwright, the Chorus, superbly played by Suzzanne Douglass (left), exhorts the audience to imagine the armies of England and France, along with their horses and equipment, on “this unworthy scaffold.” Michael Genet stands out as the stalwart Exeter, Evander Duck as a regal King Charles VI of France and Ben Mehl as a very foppish Dauphin. Bardolph, Nym and Pistol, Henry’s former drinking buddies, are played by Thom Sesma, Jesse J. Perez and Geoffrey Owens, respectively, as jive-talking, finger-popping scoundrels. And Ismenia Mendes breaks hearts as the Boy who meets his end while guarding the luggage.
As the Welshman Fluellen, whose thick accent and penchant for citing military history and ancient battles at every opportunity engender laughs, Brendan Titley convincingly conveys the man's honesty and courage. Ben Mehl (Captain Jamy, a Scotsman) and Ian Lassiter (Captain MacMorris, an Irishman) provide superb support, especially the latter whose hair-trigger temper almost gets him in trouble with the king.
On the distaff side, the domestic scene between the Princess Katherine and her nurse Alice provides a needed respite from the rhetoric of war. Ismenia Mendes delightfully attempts to study English by learning, and mispronouncing, the names for parts of the body in English (her French sounds fluent). At the end, however, showing that she understands far more than she has let on, she holds Henry at arm’s length, refusing to kiss him before marriage, giving in only when he admonishes her that “nice customs curtsey to great kings.”
The outstanding production values enhance the fine performances. Andromache Chalfant has positioned a huge red Mark Rothko-like painting at the back of the stage to remind us of the bloody aspects of war; during battle scenes, it glows eerily. And the rectangular wooden playing platform morphs from the polished floors of the palace to the muddy, hilly terrain of the battlefield merely by lifting or shifting panels up or sideways. Tilly Grimes' costumes are important in a production where everyone is dressed in modern attire. Henry's boyish blue jeans give way to a soldier's khaki pants tucked into military boots; the foppish wear blue suits and berets (the Dauphin even sports an ascot); the English wear grey business suits and military trench coats instead of armor. And Katherine resembles a modern teenager in capri pants and ballet slippers, lounging on her bed! Allen Hahn's lighting and Brandon Wolcott's sound and original music convey an macabre feeling, and fight direction by Thomas Schall excitingly evokes the larger battle occurring offstage.
Two Rivers' production of Henry V shows us a young man whose initial boyish stature grows as he deals with traitors brutally and ruthlessly, to become a leader demanding discipline in others and himself, stern but knowing when to unbend, able to stir the hearts of his subjects and possessing an overwhelming sense of his own responsibility. Underneath his crown, Henry is a commoner at heart; his humility makes him able to successfully connect with foot soldiers and nobles alike. It's the perfect treatment for an American audience about to elect or re-elect a leader for unsettled political and economic times. Both Romney and Obama would do well to take a lesson from the Bard.
Henry V will be performed at the Two River Theater Company, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank, through November 11. For information and tickets, call the box office at 732.345.1400 or visit www.trtc.org online.
Photos by T. Charles Erickson
