henry v – Shakespeare and the Players at Emory University Fri, 24 Feb 2017 15:05:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 124205043 Henry Herbert /henry-herbert/ Mon, 10 Aug 2015 18:36:21 +0000 http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/shakespeare/?p=1906 Read more]]> (1879-1947)

Henry Herbert as Hamlet in "Hamlet" Henry Herbert as Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew" Mr. Henry Herbert as King Henry in "Henry the Fifth" ]]>
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Pistol /pistol/ Wed, 22 Jul 2015 18:44:15 +0000 http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/shakespeare/?p=979 Read more]]> Pistol is a character in Henry V.

William Mollison as Pistol in "Henry the Fifth" ]]>
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Chorus /chorus/ Wed, 22 Jul 2015 18:42:23 +0000 http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/shakespeare/?p=977 Read more]]> Chorus is a character in Henry V.

Miss Mary Rorke as Chorus in "Henry the Fifth" ]]>
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Queen Katharine /queen-katharine/ Wed, 22 Jul 2015 18:41:16 +0000 http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/shakespeare/?p=975 Read more]]> Queen Katharine (Catherine de Valois) is a character in Henry V.

Sarah Brooke as Queen Katharine and Lewis Waller as Henry V in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as Henry V and Madge Titheradge as Katherine in "Henry V" ]]>
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Henry V / Prince Hal (Character) /henry-v-character/ Wed, 22 Jul 2015 18:39:15 +0000 http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/shakespeare/?p=971 Read more]]> King Henry V (formerly Prince Hal) is son of Henry IV, and the titular character in Henry V. He is also a major character in the prequels to Henry V, the two parts of Henry IV.

Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Mr. Henry Herbert as King Henry in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as Henry V in "Henry V" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as Henry V and Madge Titheradge as Katherine in "Henry V" Sarah Brooke as Queen Katharine and Lewis Waller as Henry V in "Henry the Fifth" ]]>
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Henry V /henry-v/ Fri, 19 Jun 2015 18:24:40 +0000 http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/shakespeare/?p=546 Read more]]> Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth"

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother (4.3).

Henry V begins at the English court, where the young king is persuaded that he has a claim to the throne of France. When the French dauphin, or heir apparent, insults him by sending him tennis balls, Henry launches his military expedition to France.

Before departing, Henry learns that three of his nobles have betrayed him, and he orders their execution. Meanwhile, his old tavern companions grieve over Sir John Falstaff’s death, and then leave for France.

Henry and his army lay siege to the French town of Harfleur, which surrenders. The Princess of France, Katherine, starts to learn English, but the French nobles are sure of success against Henry. Instead, Henry’s forces win a great victory at Agincourt.

After a brief return to England, Henry comes back to France to claim his rights and to set up his marriage to Princess Katherine. The play’s epilogue points out that Henry will die young and that England will as a result lose most of his French territories (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of Henry V:

Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Sarah Brooke as Queen Katharine and Lewis Waller as Henry V in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Miss Mary Rorke as Chorus in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" William Mollison as Pistol in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Mr. Henry Herbert as King Henry in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as Henry V and Madge Titheradge as Katherine in "Henry V" Lewis Waller as Henry V in "Henry V"

Productions of Henry V:

1900 Frank Benson‘s company gave seven performances of Henry V in February at the Lyceum Theatre (London) with Benson as Henry and his wife Constance as Katherine. Other familiar names in the cast were Matheson Lang as Montjoy, Henry Ainley as the Duke of Gloster, Oscar Asche as Pistol, and Lily Brayton as Alice (Wearing, I: 8-9) As well as this play, they presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and Antony and Cleopatra. An interesting note is that a young Isadora Duncan played one of the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Loney, I: 3).

J. Comyns as managing director presented eighty performances of Henry V with Lewis Waller playing the part of Henry. The play ran at the Lyceum Theatre (London) from December 22, 1900, until March 16, 1901. Others in the cast were William Mollison as Pistol, E. M. Robson as Fluellen, Alexander Calvert as Gower, Gordon Doone as Jamy, and Lily Hanbury as the Chorus. Sarah Brooke played Katherine of France. The critics called the performance a “genuine and complete success” (Wearing, I: 67-8; Loney, I: 4).

1901 April 15 marked the opening of Frank Benson’s festival season at Stratford-upon-Avon. The company presented for the first time at Stratford a cycle of the history plays: King John, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI, Part 2, and Richard III. The company presented five other plays as well, including Much Ado About Nothing (Loney, I: 8).

William Poel’s Elizabethan Stage Society presented Henry V at the Burlington Gardens Theatre, London, on November 15. In keeping with the Society’s founding principles, the play was done as it would have been in Shakespeare’s time, with a minimum of scenery and props, lavish contemporary Elizabethan costuming, a thrust-stage, and an all-male cast (Loney, I: 8).

1908 Lewis Waller revived his acclaimed production of Henry V on November 25 at the Lyric Theatre, London (Loney, I: 45).

1910 Beginning on March 28, several companies presented a London Shakespeare Festival at His Majesty’s Theatre. Herbert Beerbohm Tree‘s company played The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. Norman Mckinnel presented King Lear and The Merchant of Venice; Arthur Bourchier and his company came next with The Merchant of Venice. H. B. Irving played Hamlet, and Frank Benson’s “Bensonians” follo wed with theTaming of the Shrew and Coriolanus. Poel’s Elizabethan Stage Society gave a performance—in the “original” sixteenth-century style—of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Lewis Waller revived his Henry V, and Tree returned to close the Festival with The Merchant of Venice and Richard II (Loney, I: 54).

At the first Stratford-upon-Avon Summer Shakespeare Festival, Benson presented The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Henry V, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Richard II, Hamlet, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 54).

1911 On April 17 the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival opened with The Merry Wives of Windsor. This year Frank Benson also offered The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night,Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Richard III (Loney, I: 158).

On July 22, Stratford’s second summer season began; this is the year that Baliol Holloway debuted with the Bensonians. The plays performed are A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, Richard II, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and the Tempest (Loney, I: 159).

1912 The annual Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival opened this year on April 22 with The Merchant of Venice; Frank Benson’s company also performed Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus, The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Richard III (Loney, I: 63).

The third annual summer season of Shakespeare began on August 7 at Stratford. The Shakespeare plays performed by Frank Benson’s troupe included Othello, Henry V, Antony and Cleopatra, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 64).

1913 Frank Benson opened the Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival with Richard II; the troupe also performed Henry IV, Part 2, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and Hamlet this season. Added attractions were William Poel’s production of Troilus and Cressida, with Edith Evans and Hermione Gingold, as well as Poel himself as the performers, and a presentation of Henry V by the students of Stratford’s King Edward VI Grammar School (Loney, I: 68).

On December 26, Frank Benson’s company revived Henry V at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London V (Loney, I: 69).

1914 Frank Benson returned from the United States to direct the Stratford Summer Festival. He opened the four-week festval with Much Ado About Nothing. The company also presented Hamlet, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2,The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet (Loney, I: 73). The Festival ended with a rousing performance of Henry V in which Benson’s entire company marched on stage holding weapons such as spears and halberds showcasing patriotic solidarity. The date of this performance was August 4, the same day that Britain declared war on Germany (Fogg 11-12).

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Lewis Waller /lewis-waller/ Sun, 19 Apr 2015 16:47:26 +0000 http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/shakespeare/?p=327 Read more]]> (1860-1915)

Lewis Waller, born in Spain, initially studied to work in the commercial industry. He got his start in the companies of famous Dame Helena Modjeska and J. L. Toole in the 1880s.  During his career, he was best known as something of a matinee-idol in the popular romantic plays of his day like The Three Musketeers and his most popular role in Monsieur Beaucaire, a dramatic adaptation of Booth Tarkington’s novel. For his portrayals, he attracted large female audiences who made themselves in a fan club. Waller won critical acclaim in at least some of his Shakespeare roles: as Brutus in Julius Caesar, as Henry V, and as Faulkenbridge in King John. He created the role of Sir Robert Chiltern in Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband (1895). He married Florence West, an actress who appeared often with Waller in his most successful romances. He became manager for the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in the mid-1890s after leasing it during Sir Beerbohm Tree‘s tour in the US. Tree invited Waller to join his company in 1897 and toured with him and his lavish productions of Shakespeare.

Although Waller himself loved playing Shakespeare roles like Romeo, Othello, and Henry V, his most profitable plays were always his romances and he is often remembered for his good looks. He did make several recordings of his speeches from Henry V which still exist. Waller died  just two days shy of his fifty-fifth birthday from pneumonia.

Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Evelyn Millard as Portia, Lewis Waller as Brutus in "Julius Caesar" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Mr. Lewis Waller Sarah Brooke as Queen Katharine and Lewis Waller as Henry V in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as Henry V and Madge Titheradge as Katherine in "Henry V" Lewis Waller as Brutus in "Julius Caesar" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet" Lewis Waller as Othello and H. B. Irving as Iago in "Othello" Lewis Waller as Henry V in "Henry V" Lewis Waller as Othello and Evelyn Millard as Desdemona in "Othello" Lewis Waller as "Henry V" in "Henry the Fifth" Lewis Waller as Brutus in "Julius Caesar" ]]>
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