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The Review - THEATRE by REBECCA FIELDING
Published: 1 May 2008

Geoffrey Streatfeild does a good job of playing Henry

Bard’s take on nationalism

HENRY V
Roundhouse

THE first 10 minutes of the RSC’s much-hyped ode to England and its warrior king, Henry V, may have left some of the more aspirational audience members regretting the moment they ever heard the words self-improvement.
Shakespeare plus Roundhouse might equal halo plus dinner party Rohypnol, but not everyone is hunting what sociologists call “cultural capital”, and even the most seasoned Bard fans were wriggling in their seats during the opening account of the king’s genealogical claim to the French throne.
Thankfully, Avon’s favourite son was only teasing us, and the plot goes from lukewarm to hot before you can say iambic pentameter.
The production is also boosted by the vertical set-design, complete with trapezes and manholes, to keep the audience guessing where a man in tights might spring from.
On the surface the story itself is thin on intrigue – a flag-flying account of the gallant king “Hal” and his victory at Agincourt that doesn’t miss a chance to rub French noses in the proverbial merde.
Geoffrey Streatfeild does a good job of playing Henry, even if director Michael Boyd is asking us to suspend our disbelief when it comes to the king’s common touch and good looks.
Shakespeare might have been proud of his country, but his insights on nationalism were not those of an ask-no-questions jingoist.
Some commentators have levelled that Henry V is a revisionist play – the apotheosis of winners’ history, idealised by the Elizabethans to bask in the reflected glory of their forefathers.
And while there is undoubtedly an element of that, there is more than a sniff of trademark irony belying much of the pomp and procession.
The depiction of the “common” man, complete with regional accent, who is willing to lie down for his king and country is one such example.
As Hal woos the girl in the Hollywood-style finale, it seems Shakespeare is well aware that national identity is a shifting field. In a week when St George’s Day grabbed the headlines, Henry V couldn’t be more prophetic.
Until May 25
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0870 040 0700

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