Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Women & Shakespeare: Taking ownership of HENRY IV

• By drediman
• November 20, 2015
• No Comments

Perhaps in (subconscious) reaction to the Globe’s incredibly successful “original practices” productions of Twelfth Night and Richard II, in which men take on the women’s roles as was the practice during Shakespeare’s time, Phyllida Lloyd has turned the tables with her hard-hitting and thoroughly entertaining Henry IV, which recently opened and christened St. Ann’s Warehouse’s new space in Dumbo (in a co-production with London’s esteemed Donmar Warehouse). As with her Julius Caesar two seasons ago, also at St. Ann’s, this Henry IV features a fierce cast comprised completely of women. And as if in recognition of women’s perceived place in the world, she sets her production in a women’s penitentiary, overlaying that world’s insular power struggles with the juicy politics and personalities of Shakespeare’s history play(s), which here has been judiciously and smartly streamlined into a single intermission-less play. Very much like the current Broadway smash hit Hamilton and the recent superb revival of Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine at the Atlantic, Ms. Lloyd has boldly taken the reigns to tell the story her own uncompromising way, thereby taking ownership of the typically male-dominated Shakespearean landscape.

Ms. Lloyd’s lean and mean production is accomplished. Her actresses, led by a magnetic and irresistibly fiery Harriet Walter as King Henry IV, are a dedicated bunch, bringing a visceral physicality and an intense acting style to Shakespeare’s play. I’d also like to single out Jade Anouka’s restless, sensational Hotspur, Clare Dunne’s powerfully clear-headed Hal, and Sophie Stanton’s subtle, beautifully underplayed Falstaff. These are performances to savor and cherish. Ms. Lloyd’s designers also hit the bulls-eye – Bunny Christie and Ellen Nabarro have transformed St. Ann’s into an effectively oppressive playground for this turbulent play, one of Shakespeare’s iconic creations.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

HENRY IV
Off-Broadway, Play
St. Ann’s Warehouse (co-produced by Donmar Warehouse)
2 hours, 15 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 13