I am determined to prove a villain (1.1)

As Richard III opens, Richard is Duke of Gloucester and his brother, Edward IV, is king. Richard is eager to clear his way to the crown. He manipulates Edward into imprisoning their brother, Clarence, and then has Clarence murdered in the Tower. Meanwhile, Richard succeeds in marrying Lady Anne, even though he killed her father-in-law, Henry VI, and her husband.

When the ailing King Edward dies, Prince Edward, the older of his two young sons, is next in line for the throne. Richard houses the Prince and his younger brother in the Tower. Richard then stages events that yield him the crown.

After Richard’s coronation, he has the boys secretly killed. He also disposes of Anne, his wife, in order to court his niece, Elizabeth of York. Rebellious nobles rally to Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. When their armies meet, Richard is defeated and killed. Richmond becomes Henry VII. His marriage to Elizabeth of York ends the Wars of the Roses and starts the Tudor dynasty (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of Richard III:

Productions of Richard III:

1892 Edmund Tearle produced the Colley Cibber adaptation of Richard III at the Olympic Theatre (London); the production ran for eleven performances, from April 25 to May 6. Tearle took the part of Richard, Duke of Gloster; Frederick Scarth played Buckingham, Marie Glynne, the Duchess of York, Theresa Osborne, Lady Anne, and Kate Clinton, Elizabeth (Wearing, I: 212).

1896 Richard III, performed by Henry Irving‘s company, ran for thirty-five performances at the Lyceum Theatre (London). It opened in December, 1896, and closed in April, 1897. Irving played the part of Richard, H. Cooper Cliffe, the Duke of Clarence, F. H. Macklin, Buckingham, Maud Milton, Elizabeth, Mary Rorke, Duchess of York, and Julia Arthur, the part of lady Anne (Wearing, I: 620).

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).

1904 On December 5 at the Princess Theatre, New York City, Robert B. Mantell opened a two-week run of plays in repertory. He played Othello and Richard III. Marie Booth Russell performed with him (Loney, I: 24).

1909 The London Shakespeare Festival presented by Herbert Beerbohm Tree‘s ensemble, began June 21 at His Majesty’s Theatre, London. The festival ran for two weeks with The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth (Loney, I: 50).

1910 On May 28 at the Lyceum Theatre, London, John Martin Harvey presented his Richard III; the production originally opened in Dublin at the Theatre Royale before Harvey brought the play to London.

The Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival opened on April 22 this year. The Festival began with Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s Hamlet; Benson’s company then performed The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Richard III with Genevieve Ward and The Merchant of Venice with Ellen Terry. The season was cut short and ended when Edward VII died on May 6 (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).

The London Shakespeare Festival opened on May 22 at His Majesty’s Theatre with Beerbohm Tree’s Julius Caesar, followed by Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton‘s As You Like It. Next came The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Frank Benson presented The Taming of the Shrew, Tree revived his Henry VIII, and the Festival closed with Benson’s Richard III and on July 3, the final night, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 158).

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).

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle … This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England (2.1)

In Richard II, anger at a king’s arbitrary rule leads to his downfall—and sets in motion a decades-long struggle for the crown that continues in several more history plays.

The play begins as Richard’s cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, charges Thomas Mowbray with serious crimes, including the murder of the Duke of Gloucester. Bolingbroke’s father, John of Gaunt, privately blames the king for Gloucester’s death. At Richard‘s command, Bolingbroke and Mowbray prepare for a trial by combat. The king halts the fight at the last minute, banishing both men from England.

When John of Gaunt dies, Richard seizes his possessions to help finance a war in Ireland, thus dispossessing Bolingbroke. Bolingbroke returns to England, quickly gathering support. By the time Richard returns from Ireland, many of his former allies have joined Bolingbroke. Richard abdicates, yielding the crown to Bolingbroke.

Richard is held at Pomfret Castle and Bolingbroke becomes King Henry IV. A murder plot against him is uncovered and stopped. Richard is murdered by a follower of Henry (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of Richard II:

Productions of Richard II:

1900 Frank Benson‘s troupe performed Richard II sixteen times (March 15-May 5) at the Lyceum Theatre (London). Benson played Richard, Oscar Asche, Mowbray, Harcourt Williams, Hotspur, Frank Rodney, Bolingbroke, and Lily Brayton, the Queen (Wearing, I: 14).

1901 Frank Benson played Richard II in eight performances (March 13-25) of the play at the Comedy Theatre (London). Lilian Braithwaite played the Queen and Frank Rodney, Bolingbroke (Wearing, I: 79-80).

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).

1908 Frank Ludlow’s ensemble began a two-week engagement at New York City’s Bijou Theatre; the plays by Shakespeare were Richard II and The Merchant of Venice (Loney, I: 44).

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” followed with the Taming 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 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).

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).

Frank Benson’s summer season of Shakespeare’s plays opened on August 2 with The Merchant of Venice; other plays performed that season were As You Like It, Hamlet, King John, Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part 2 (Loney, I: 68).

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, Henry V, 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).

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:

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).

Here I and sorrows sit; Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it (3.1).

The events in King John take place in the thirteenth century, well before Shakespeare’s other English history plays. After the death of John’s brother, Richard I, John rules England.

John’s young nephew, Arthur, has a claim to the throne and is supported by the French. At first, a proposed marriage between the French crown prince and John’s niece, Blanche, calms Anglo-French tensions. Then the pope, in a dispute over recognizing an archbishop, excommunicates John and backs Arthur’s claim. After war erupts, John captures Arthur and orders his death. Arthur’s guardian, Hubert, prepares to burn out Arthur’s eyes, but then spares him. Arthur dies leaping from the prison wall. Arthur’s mother Constance grieves inconsolably.

Meanwhile, French forces reach England. John submits to the pope to gain his aid. Rebellious English nobles join the French, but return to John when they learn the French prince plans to kill them. English forces under the bastard son of Richard I expel the French, but a monk poisons King John, whose son becomes Henry III (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of King John:

Productions of King John:

1899 Herbert Beerbohm Tree‘s production of King John ran from September 20, 1899 to January 1, 1900, for an impressive 114 performances. The venue was Her Majesty’s Theatre (London). Tree played John, and others in the cast were Julia Neilson as Constance, Charles Sefton and Caryll Field-Fisher as Arthur, Franklyn McLeary and Norman McKinnel as Hubert, Lewis Waller as Philip, and Louis Calvert as Cardinal Pandolph (Wearing, II: 830).

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).

1913 Frank Benson’s summer season of Shakespeare’s plays opened on August 2 with The Merchant of Venice; other plays performed that season were As You Like It, Hamlet, King John, Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part 2 (Loney, I: 68).

I shall fall Like a bright exhalation in the evening, And no man see me more (3.2).

Two stories dominate Henry VIII: the fall of Cardinal Wolsey, Henry‘s powerful advisor, and Henry’s quest to divorce Queen Katherine, who has not borne him a male heir, and marry Anne Bullen (Boleyn).

First, the Duke of Buckingham questions Wolsey’s costly staging of a failed meeting with the French king. Wolsey arrests Buckingham and accuses him of treason; testimony from a bribed witness leads to Buckingham’s execution. Queen Katherine takes a stand against Wolsey. Wolsey gives a party at which Henry meets Anne.

Henry falls in love with Anne and seeks to divorce Katherine, but Katherine refuses to be judged by Wolsey and other church officials. The king secretly marries Anne and then has her crowned queen. Meanwhile, Henry discovers Wolsey’s treachery against him. Wolsey, arrested, falls sick and dies. Katherine also sickens and dies.

Cranmer, the new archbishop of Canterbury, comes under attack, but receives the king’s support. Anne gives birth to a daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth. Cranmer prophesies marvelous reigns for her and her unnamed successor, James (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of Henry VIII:

Productions of Henry VIII:

1892 Henry Irving‘s production of Henry VIII ran for 204 performances at the Lyceum Theatre (London) from January 5 to July 30 and then again from October 1 until November 5. Its popularity was due no doubt to Irving’s part as Cardinal Wolsey and Ellen Terry‘s as Queen Katherine. The other performers were Arthur Stirling and Amy Roselle who substituted at times for Irving and Terry, William Terriss as Henry VIII, and Violet Vanbrugh as Anne Bullen (Wearing, I: 184).

1893 Henry Irving gave three performances of Henry VIII at the Lyceum (London) in July. Irving played Cardinal Wolsey and Genevieve Ward played Queen Katherine, with William Terriss as Henry VIII and Amy Coleridge as Anne Bullen (Wearing, I: 336-7).

1902 In April, Frank Benson presented seven Shakespeare plays at the Stratford-upon-Avon Festival, among them Twelfth Night and Henry VIII. Ellen Terry made her debut at the Stratford Theatre as Queen Katherine (Loney, I: 12-3).

1910 On September 1 at His Majesty’s Theatre, Herbert Beerbohm Tree played Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII; the other players included Violet Vanbrugh, Laura Cowie, and Clarence Derwent (Loney, I: 54).

1911 The London Shakespeare Festival opened on May 22 at His Majesty’s Theatre with Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s Julius Caesar, followed by Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton‘s As You Like It. Next came The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Frank Benson presented The Taming of the Shrew, Tree revived his Henry VIII, and the Festival closed with Benson’s Richard III and on July 3, the final night, the Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 158).

1912 On April 9, Herbert Beerbohm Tree opened his season of Shakespeare at His Majesty’s Theatre, London, with Othello; his company also performed The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and Henry VIII (Loney, I: 63).

As that conflict develops, Prince Hal—Henry IV‘s son and heir—carouses in a tavern and plots to trick the roguish Sir John Falstaff and his henchmen, who are planning a highway robbery. Hal and a companion will rob them of their loot—then wait for Falstaff’s lying boasts. The trick succeeds, but Prince Hal is summoned to war.

In the war, Hal saves his father’s life and then kills Hotspur, actions that help to redeem his bad reputation. Falstaff, meanwhile, cheats his soldiers, whom he leads to slaughter, and takes credit for Hotspur’s death (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Henry IV, Part 2 continues the story of Henry IV, Part 1. Northumberland learns that his son Hotspur is dead, and he rejoins the remaining rebels.  When Hotspur’s widow convinces Northumberland to withdraw, the rebels are then led by the archbishop of York and Lords Mowbray and Hastings, who muster at York to confront the king’s forces.

Sir John Falstaff, meanwhile, glories in the reputation he has gained by falsely claiming to have killed Hotspur, and he uses his wit and cunning to escape charges by the Lord Chief Justice. Prince Hal and his companion Poins disguise themselves to observe Falstaff, and they hear him insult them both. After they confront him, Prince Hal and Falstaff must return to the wars.  The king’s army is again victorious, but more through deceit and false promises than through valor.

With the rebellion over, Prince Hal attends his dying father. Hal becomes Henry V, reassures the Lord Chief Justice, and turns away Falstaff, who had expected royal favor (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Productions of Henry IV, Parts I and II:

1896 Herbert Beerbohm Tree‘s company gave 29 performances (May through November) of Henry IV, Part 1 at the Haymarket Theatre (London). Tree played Sir John Falstaff, William Mollison played Henry IV, Frank Gillmore played Hal, Lewis Waller played Hotspur, Mrs. Tree played Lady Hotspur, while Kate Phillips and Alice Kingsley played Mistress Quickly (Wearing, I, 561-2).

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).

1909 On May 11, at the Lyceum Theatre, Lewis Waller revived Henry IV, Part I, and played Hotspur. Louis Calvert took the part of Falstaff and Minnie Griffith that of Mistress Quickly (Loney, I, 49).

1913 Frank Benson’s summer season of Shakespeare’s plays opened on August 2 with The Merchant of Venice; other plays performed that season were As You Like It, Hamlet, King John,Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part 2 (Loney, I, 68).

1914 Frank Benson returned from the United States to direct the Stratford Summer Festival. He opened the four-week festival with Much Ado About Nothing. The company also presented Hamlet, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, 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).