Robert Tanitch reviews Henry IV at Donmar, London WC2
Phyllida Lloyd, as she did when she directed Julius Caesar at the Donmar, once again turns the theatre into a prison for female offenders in order to justify the casting of another all-female Shakespearean production. This time Lloyd offers a conflation of the two parts of Henry IV.
The prison setting and the prison interruptions during the actual play are distraction and could be got rid of completely. So, too, could the uncomfortable chairs provided for the audience.
The production is acted straight through without an interval. The bulk of the text comes from Part 1. There are just two scenes from Part 2: the king’s death-bed and the rejection of Falstaff.
Actresses, very rightly, complain that there are not enough roles for them; and this is particularly true in Shakespeare. The answer is, surely, not to have women pretending to be men but to change the sex of the role? They have been doing this regularly at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for years and it is done so well that audiences, unless they know the plays, are totally unaware of the change.
If you are happy seeing actresses playing male roles and playing certain scenes extremely well, then Lloyd’s production might be of interest as an exercise and/or as a taster.
Certainly, Harriet Walter as King Henry, Ashley McGuire as Falstaff, Clare Dunne as Hal and Jade Anouka as Hotspur all have some impressive moments. But the scenes do not add up to a satisfactory whole. I felt I was watching the final rehearsal before the first full dress rehearsal.
If you have never seen Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, you may have difficulty following what is going on. I would advise you to wait and see the RSC production at the Barbican which is opening at the end of November and running through the Christmas period and well into January.
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