Theatre reviews: Keepin' the Heid | Henry IV
Henry IV, Botanic Gardens, Glasgow ****
Keepin’ The Heid, Oran Mor, Glasgow ****
The late mediaeval history of England is confusing enough, without the fact that William Shakespeare, its great dramatic reinterpreter, wrote his two great cycles of history plays in the wrong order. He started the story in the 1430s, with Henry VI and Richard III; and then – half a decade later – circled back a full century, to the troubled reign of Richard II, and his removal from power by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV.
One result of this broken sequence, though, is that by time he embarked on his twin Henry IV dramas, Shakespeare was approaching the height of his powers as a dramatist; and it’s perhaps not surprising that the vividness of the characters he created, and the sheer force of his poetry, has placed these among his most popular history plays.
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Hide AdThe central feature of the Henry IV plays is the triangular relationship involving the young tearaway Prince Hal – the future Henry V – and his two father-figures, the ailing Henry IV, and the old East Cheap rogue Sir John Falstaff; and it’s on this triangle that Gordon Barr, the artistic director of Bard In The Botanics, focuses his memorable two-and-a-half-hour adaptation of both plays for four actors, now playing at the Kibble Palace.
He also places a strong emphasis on the fourth figure of Henry Hotspur, the fiery warrior son of the Earl of Northumberland; and among these four – with Johnny Panchaud, as a fearsomely noisy Hotspur, also playing many other characters and courtiers – Barr conjures up an evening of drama as painfully human as it is intensely political, full of pathos, excitement, and the background horror of war. The production has sadly lost its original Henry IV, Finlay McLean, to illness; but regular Bard star Stephen Clyde, book still in hand, is already making a fine job of capturing the profound sorrow of the dying king, careworn with responsibility, and fearful for the succession. Alan Steele offers an unforgettable Falstaff, at times a tad inaudible, but crumbling, self-indulgent, affectionate, lovable and contemptible, all in equal measure.
And Sam Stopford’s Prince Hal is a perfectly-judged performance; every rhythm of the poetry understood, every nuance of the Prince’s character exposed, as he steadily shuts down his mischievous and bantering East Cheap friendships to meet the approaching demands of kingship. In the week of the Wagner group’s abortive march on Moscow, Shakespeare’s exploration of power, force, legitimacy, and the demands of good leadership, still has powerful contemporary echoes; and these are beautifully exposed in this brave and fascinating production.
As history plays go, Rachel Flynn’s Play, Pie And Pint show Keepin’ The Heid plays at least as fast and loose with the known facts as Shakespeare often did. Ryan Dewar’s vivid production features Fiona Wood as a 21st century Scottish tourist who is wandering the halls of Fotheringhay Castle in Yorkshire – where Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded in 1587 – when she finds herself catapulted back through time to Mary’s bedchamber, on the eve of her execution. This is not the pious, proud and aristocratic Mary of history, though; for this Mary is as earthy a Scottish lass as a 21st century tourist could wish to meet, royally cheesed off with the world of men, and more than capable of finding common ground with her modern visitor. Thanks to the depth and brilliance of Sally Reid’s performance as Mary, this is all by turns silly, funny, rude and unexpectedly moving, as she finally goes to her death in impressive royal Stuart style; in a take on one of the world’s best known historic figures that’s both completely original, and also strangely thought-provoking.
Henry IV at the Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, until 8 July. Keepin’ The Heid at Oran Mor, Glasgow, until 1 July, and at An Tobar, Isle of Mull, 5-8 July.