Monday, June 27, 2022

Film / Theatre Review: Henry V

Film 26 of 2022

The Film: Henry V - a film recording of the National Theatre's production at the Donmar Warehouse 2022

The Cinema: The Nova, Carlton

Stars: 5

Yesterday, I let my love of Shakespeare override my hatred of Carlton. It's not that I really, truly hate Carlton, but I really dislike getting to Carlton, parking in Carlton and the flora and fauna of Carlton. Still, the Nova Cinema was showing the National Theatre's production of Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse. 

Considering the Donmar Warehouse only has 250 seats, and that it resides in Covent Garden in London makes seeing this production impossible, seeing it on screen is the next best thing - and the National Theatre do this very well. 

And before I start into reviewing this, I have to admit that Henry V is my favourite Shakespeare History (King Lear is my favourite tragedy and Twelfth Night my go-to comedy).

And of the Henry V's I've seen, this is up there. 

Set in modern day surroundings with Kit Harrington of Game of Thrones is in the titular role of Henry, the boy who grows up in Henry VI parts one and two and goes out of his way to invade France in this play. 

In a short interview with Harrington before the performance, the actor tells of some of his conflicting feeling about playing Harry, from how he auditioned for drama school with the Tennis Balls speech, to how uncomfortable he felt about kissing Katherine without her consent and shooting the prisoners - things which make Henry a bit of a bastard if you judge him by modern standards. 

Despite these things - which have been in the text for over 400 years, this is a bloody good Henry V.

As Harrington says in this interview, the Donmar Warehouse is an intimate space, making this, at time, a claustrophobic experience. Harrington is the perfect mix of suit bedecked statesman and warrior king, pondering the role he has in men's lives."Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." (Henry IV part II, III, i. ) And this is encapsulated to great effect here. 

What brings this home is that the play starts with snippets from the two former plays in the Plantagenet or War of the Roses cycle, showing Hal gadding about with the likes of Falstaff, Bardolph, Pistol, Nym and Mistress Quickly, where he is reminded to never hang a thief. Of course this comes back to bite him on the bum at the end of the  Act II. It also shows a man who has some understanding of the rest of the population over which he rules. 

The cast, for most of the play, are dressed in modern day combat gear, bringing this production into even more relevance, as we watch the soldiers struggle with their choices and those of the king. Of course, we are taken into the interval with the hanging of Bardolph, always a harrowing moment in this play. 

Other things I loved about this rendition - the chorus, the herald and the boy were all played by the same actor - Millicent Wong, who brought anger and poignancy to the roles. Pistol, Nym and Bardolph were as rollicking as they were angry - which was great. Fluellen went over the top in his final scene, but there was a lot of over the top action here - a lot of which brought home what this story might look like in modern times. 

The French Court are as snide and snippy as ever. The battle scenes, for such a small space, are effective and portray modern battlefields realistically. Harrington said in his small interview that the whole cast went through weeks of battle training with military instructors - and this shows. 

The blind casting was also great to see, mind you, no matter which theatre you go into at the moment, you're unlikely to see an Anglo-Saxon case playing what are traditionally cis roles. The inclusion of actor and disability activist Melissa Johns was unexpected and wonderful. It's these things which elevate the production further. 

For Shakespeare lovers, this is one to hunt out. It's in limited release in the art house cinemas. 

If you're in Melbourne, this is playing for the next few weeks at Cinema Nova, where the Chilli Choc Choc tops are ambrosial. 

Today's song

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