HENRY IV, PARTS ONE AND TWO
Mary Wallace Theatre
Directed by Simon Bartlett & Debbie Campbell

For any amateur dramatics group, putting on one Shakespeare play is a hefty challenge. Running two at the same time seems positively foolhardy. Yet that is what Richmond Shakespeare Society have done as they stage both Henry IV plays at their Mary Wallace Theatre on the Thames. The same cast perform in both parts, with Henry IV, Hal, Prince John, Falstaff and Mistress Quickly, among others, played by the same actors and actresses throughout. The result is an emotional, ably performed double-header that will be enjoyed by both Shakespeare aficionados and those who are coming to these plays for the first time.

While you can see the plays individually on separate evenings, I opted to join a merry band of Richmond locals, Shakespeare buffs, and families and friends of the performers choosing to spend their sunny Saturdays on a Bank Holiday weekend watching both parts. This is a marathon for both audience and performers, but it brings ample reward. While Part One is often seen as one of Shakespeare’s finest history plays, the perception of Part Two is less positive. Running them back-to-back with continuity of performers ensures that the latter play’s strengths shine out, while its weaknesses are hidden to a greater extent than if it is performed on its own. By the end of Part Two here, the amount of time we have spent with the main characters makes Hal’s reconciliation with his dying father, and his rejection of Falstaff, even more resonant.

The trajectories of Hal’s relationships with these other characters dominate proceedings in both parts, and the transformation of Hal himself from rebellious prankster to responsible, newly-crowned King is a challenge for any actor. Here, Christopher Capon rises to that challenge superbly, carrying himself with the self-confidence of royalty throughout and equally effective at raising laughs during his Part One antics with Falstaff as he is at bringing sadness when he uses his newfound authority to reject his former friend in Part Two (remarkably, Capon even finds time for a cameo role as one of Falstaff’s soldiers). His delivery of the lines is occasionally stilted, but this is a minor gripe. He and the rest of the cast are generally excellent at enunciating the lines, something that even major filmed Shakespeare adaptations could learn from – there’s no muttering here.

If anything, the plays suffer from a different problem – they are too shouty, too angry. There’s a lot of rage, and little in the way of calm reflection. This renders less impactful the moments where characters are rightfully angry, but does also mean that the quieter moments gain in power, especially Henry’s ‘uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’ soliloquy. Matthew Flexman, playing Henry, majestically rises to the occasion after a poor and emotionless opening scene. Next time we see him, he is furious about prisoners not being handed over to him, the epitome of a monarch who is not used to being disobeyed and has become conscious of the threat to his throne. His manner is authoritative, yet belies an inner worry about a possible usurpation. As Hotspur, Luciano Dodero is on the shouty side but otherwise plays the role well as a slightly mad and manic leader of rebels.

A softly spoken and fantastically likeable Falstaff (John Gilbert) is one character who does keep the anger down. Even if some of his early jokes don’t quite land, the humour of his performance roars into life after Hal has exposed Falstaff’s lies about the Gad’s Hill robbery – Gilbert delivers the line in which the old rogue feigns recognition of the prince with wonderful comedic timing. From that point on, the audience are in Falstaff’s pocket as he makes us laugh again and again – the children behind me were in stitches during the scene where Falstaff and Hal impersonate the monarch.

There isn’t a bad performance here, and those taking on the vast number of more minor roles in the ensemble cast deserve credit too. Scott Tilley is literally and figuratively towering as Douglas and Pistol, Fran Billington plays Justice Shallow with a quiet humour, Lynne Harrison is a touchy-feely Doll Tearsheet, and Ben Collingwood Best is accomplished as Westmoreland and Warwick. Honourable mentions should also go to Cath Messum (Glendower) and Abi Tresise (Lady Mortimer) for their Welsh language skills, and to Francis Abbot (Justice Silence), Alberta Best (Falstaff’s page), Anna Bianchi (Bardolph), Francesca Ellis (Lady Percy), David Kay (Northumberland), Pete Messum (Poins), Caroline Ross Tajasque (Mistress Quickly) and Lily Tomlinson (Prince John) for their sterling efforts.

The performances take centre stage on Junis Olmscheid’s barebones set, with a forest as the backdrop and little furniture other than a couple of steps and platforms. Under the direction of Simon Bartlett and Debbie Campbell, these are straightforward productions that do not attempt to alter the original text or setting – the set requires nothing more than the essentials to be effective. Much atmospheric work is done by Paul Nicholson’s lighting, which is especially effective in creating the illusion of an eerie night for the Gad’s Hill robbery when combined with a smoke machine reducing visibility. At the performance I attended, visibility became even more restricted when all the lights went out for several minutes until a back-up system was switched on. It is a credit to the actors that they didn’t bat an eyelid and kept the performance going.

That mishap was a reminder that we were watching an amateur performance, rather than a finely tuned professional production. But this is an impressive double-header, with the acting of a high quality throughout – indeed, aside from anything else, it is an impressive feat of memory for amateur performers to remember all their lines for two long plays. These are two fine productions, and everybody involved in them can be proud of their efforts.

Henry IV is playing at Mary Wallace Theatre from 9 April to 23 April 2022.

-Christopher Day is currently a PhD student at the University of Westminster