Video © Gavin Birkett, used by permission of the author
HENRY V
William Shakespeare
Directed by Perry Mills
Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Design by David Troughton
Produced by Richard Pearson and Mark Ellis
Poster by David Troughton
In 1913 the boys of King Edward VI School staged a production of HENRY V at the Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The composer at the theatre that year was the young Ralph Vaughan Williams, who composed music especially for HENRY V. All the boys taking part in the production fought soon after in the First World War, and seven were killed.
One hundred years later in a space familiar to the boys of 1913, Edward’s Boys staged their own production of HENRY V in the RSC’s Swan Theatre, with Old Boy Tim Pigott-Smith playing Chorus. David Biddle took over the role of Chorus for a historic performance in front of the families of some of the 1913 cast in Big School (Shakespeare’s schoolroom).
Chorus: Tim Pigott-Smith/David Biddle
Henry V: Jeremy Franklin
Duke of Gloucester: Lawrence Barber
Duke of Bedford: Oliver Lloyd
Duke of Exeter: Alex Marcel
Duke of York: Bela Varga-Elmiyeh
Earl of Salisbury: Chris Broomfield
Earl of Westmorland: David Fairbairn
Earl of Warwick: Glenn Johnson
Archbishop of Canterbury: Henry Hodson
Bishop of Ely: Henry Edwards
Earl of Cambridge: Ben Clarke
Lord Scroop of Masham: Joe Woodman
Sir Thomas Grey: Oscar Lawrence
Pistol: Jack Fenwick
Nym: Elliot Tawney
Bardolph: Calum Mitchell
Boy: Charlie Waters
Hostess Quickly: Finlay Hatch
Captain Gower: Tobias Sims
Captain Fluellen: George Matts
Captain MacMorris: Roderick Storey
Captain Jamy: Jamie Hall
Sir Thomas Erpingham: James Burman
John Bates: Pascal Vogiaridis
Alexander Court: Alistair Campbell
Michael Williams: Daniel Wilkinson
Herald: Jacob West
Charles VI of France: Jonny Clowes
The Dauphin: James Williams
Katharine: George Hodson
Alice: Barnaby Bos
Constable of France: Joshua Danks-Smith
Duke of Bourbon: Harry Bowen
Duke of Orleans: James Wilkinson
Duke of Berri: Jack Lovegrove
Lord Rambures: Jasper Durbin
Lord Grandpre: Ben Dennes
Duke of Burgundy: Jonathan Huish
Montjoy: Will Lindsay
French Messenger: Kieran Pope
Le Fer: Felix Marot
Governor of Harfleur: Samuel Bridges
French Ambassador: Adam Hardy
Soldiers, Ambassadors: Samual Ngombe, Patrick Ellis, Joe Pocknell, Isaac Woodman
March 16 2013: Levi Fox Hall, King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon
March 17 2013: RSC Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
March 18 2013: Upper Guildhall (“Big School”), King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon
RELATED LINKS: Why perform Henry V with a boys’ company?
Click on a thumbnail image to view the production stills…
