Henry IV Part 1 is the first instalment of Shakespeare's gripping account of the rise of Hal from idle barfly to monarch-in-waiting, combining compelling power politics with the hilarious antics of Falstaff, Shakespeare's greatest comic creation.
Prince Hal, son of Henry IV, seems to be squandering his life among the whores, boozers and petty rogues of Eastcheap. And the greatest of these rogues is the fat knight, Sir John Falstaff, a liar, glutton, lecher, cheat, braggart, fool and sponger who also possesses wit, warmth, intelligence and a gigantic sense of fun. But beside these scenes of glorious misrule gathers a nationwide rebellion led by the Duke of Northumberland and his charismatic son, Hotspur. Henry IV Part 1 will employ Renaissance staging and costume.
Henry IV Part 1
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4.0 (7) |  |
0.0 (0) |
| Venue | Shakespeare's Globe (click for full venue information) |
General
| Genres | Shakespeare |
| Begins previews | 06 June 2010 |
| Opening | 14 July 2010 |
| Closing / Booking until | 02 October 2010 |
| Show times | In rep |
| Production website | http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/annualtheatreseason/henryivpart1/ |
| Prices from | £5.00 |
| To | £35.00 |
| Running time | TBA |
Cast & Creatives
- Author/Writer William Shakespeare
- Music by Claire van Kampen
- Director Dominic Dromgoole
- Featuring Roger Allam, Jamie Parker, William Gaunt, Oliver Cotton, Christopher Godwin, Sean Kearns, Paul Rider, Jade Williams
Editor reviews
Average editor rating from: 7 user(s)
Terrific sport
| Rating: | 4.0 |
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| Review |
Small bands of Asbo pigeons now work Shakespeare's Globe during the interval. Hooded and hobbling they hop about the seating, coveting crumbs of junk food and jealously protecting their patch. But they are as nothing to the glorious gallery of reprobates unleashed by Dominic Dromgoole's production of Shakespeare's twin history plays. And they are crowned by Roger Allam, who makes one of the best Falstaffs in recent memory. |
| Written by | Patrick Marmion |
| Full review | http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/reviews/article-1295056/Henry-IV-The-misspent-youth-Prince-Harry.html |
Glorious
| Rating: | 4.0 |
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| Review | Allam speaks the role as beautifully as any actor in memory, including the late Robert Stephens. He's more knightly than Stephens, less mountainously corrupt. But he's not really all that fat, or gross; he's less a Manningtree ox than a beadier, longer-haired version of Christopher Hitchens. |
| Written by | Michael Coveney |
| Full review | http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/henry-iv-parts-1-and-2-shakespeares-globe-london-2027756.html |
Two sparkling star turns
| Rating: | 4.0 |
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Allam and Parker play off each other with joyous ease, reaching their zenith in the lovely scene in which Hal, high-fiving the groundlings in his joy at getting the upper hand, revels in revealing the extent of Falstaff’s cowardice during the Gad’s Hill robbery. The downside of such excellence manifests itself differently in each part. In Part One, the rebels threatening the fragmenting reign of Hal’s father Henry (Oliver Cotton, nicely suggesting a monarch crippled by introspection) have not only the weight of history, but the balance of acting skills against them. |
| Written by | Fiona Mountford |
| Full review | http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/review-23856506-too-much-of-a-good-thing-from-henry-iv.do |
A Falstaff to treasure
| Rating: | 4.0 |
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| Review | Roger Allam has a rare convincing confidence in the stout knight’s wit (caught by a vicious downpour at this performance, he digressed momentarily into Lear’s “blow winds, and crack your cheeks” for an extra cheer from the sodden groundlings). But there’s no empty mugging or self-indulgence. He catches every nuance: Sir John is a boozer and a thief, but with edges of depressive self-disgust that make his final crushing rejection in Part Two unbearable. He is a knight amid lowlifes, who thinks that he could “purge, and live cleanly as a nobleman”. His battle cowardice springs from having more imagination than the hot young bloods. When he asks whether honour “can take away the grief of a wound?” Allam’s voice drops in real horror. Disgraceful, beguiling, human: a Falstaff to treasure. |
| Written by | Libby Purves |
| Full review | http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/stage/theatre/article2645482.ece |
The best Falstaff since Robert Stephens
| Rating: | 4.0 |
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| Review | This is, remarkably, the first time these wonderful plays have been staged at the reconstructed Globe, and, on the evidence of Pt 1 (Dominic Cavendish will review Pt 2 tomorrow), it is one of this popular theatre’s finest achievements. Though he lacks Falstaff’s poundage, there has always been a fine Falstaffian relish about Dominic Dromgoole, the theatre’s excellent artistic director, and these productions are manifestly a labour of love. |
| Written by | Charles Spencer |
| Full review | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/7892010/Henry-IV-Part-One-Shakespeares-Globe-London-review.html |
Roger Allam is unsurpassable
| Rating: | 4.0 |
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| Review | Roger Allam’s Falstaff is the focal point of both parts. Never will you hear the role more beautifully or more nimbly spoken. But like most recent Falstaffs - Robert Stephens and David Warner included - there’s little grossness about him. He’s hardly fatter than you or I, and with his long dank wig he looks as knightly as any musketeer. |
| Written by | Michael Coveney |
| Full review | http://www.whatsonstage.com/reviews/theatre/london/E8831279184526/Henry+IV%3A+Parts+I+%26+II+%28Globe%29.html |
Proper old-school heraldic fun
| Rating: | 4.0 |
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| Review | Deft of touch, nicely comedic, musical and fun. Allam is a brilliant Falstaff, Parker is well suited to Hal and altogether this is a strong, uncomplicated production, the Globe close to its best. |
| Written by | Ian Foster |
| Full review | http://oughttobeclowns.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-henry-iv-part-1-shakespeares.html |
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