Director's/Dramaturg's Note

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

In his book The Dramatic Imagination, noted Broadway scenic designer Robert Edmond Jones imagined the origins of theatre: cave people sitting around a fire telling stories, sharing the details of that day’s hunt. In some ways, Jones asserted, it was the ideal theatre, because there was no real separation between actors and audience, you knew everyone’s name and could look into their eyes. Over the centuries, as our theatres have gotten grander and grander, we have gotten further and further away from that notion.

I’ve been lucky to see terrific productions of Shakespeare’s plays in England and all over this country. They’ve been powerful, effective, thought-provoking productions. But the one that sticks with me most is a production of Hamlet I saw in an attic.

We sat on wooden benches in a large circle, and in my memory (probably more than a little faulty), I remember having to incline my head beneath the sloping ceiling. The actors were barefoot and wore jeans. There were limited production values. The actors shared their soliloquies directly with us. I was mesmerized.

The famed Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald recently referred to the actor/audience relationship as a “holy communion.” Seeing Hamlet in that setting – sitting in a circle, my head bowed so as not to hit the attic ceiling – I could look across the space and see the other audience members’ eyes while we watched the story of Hamlet unfold before us. It was indeed a holy communion. In this time of Zoom classes and online learning, of masks and social distance, I’ve never craved a live actor/audience exchange more than I do now. I’ve never longed more for the opportunity to be so close as to look into the actors’ eyes.

The production you’re about to see this evening is wildly different from our traditional departmental productions. We rehearsed the first two weeks online. We’re only now getting on the set. Oh, and in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re performing outdoors. I say all this not as an apology; on the contrary, these raw, “primitive” aspects draw us closer not only to Shakespeare’s day, but also to those cave people first acting out their stories around the fire.

Maybe in this time of a global pandemic, we will have the opportunity to relearn what theatre truly is, what it can be, maybe even – I dare say – what it should be.

Tom Isbell

DRAMATURG’S NOTE

Henry V could be considered the Elizabethan era Hamilton, for an example both the Broadway hit and the classic play both use entertainment to inform their audiences of their nation’s history. Both Lin-Manuel Miranda and Shakespeare were one of the most recognized playwrights of their generations. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is so well known that you have probably read one of his 38 plays or 154 sonnets. One of the greatest writers in the English language, as well as one of the world’s greatest dramatists. Shakespeare is one of the most produced playwrights in the world with almost 2000 productions of his plays in the last decade alone. Although Shakespeare is most known for his tragedies and comedies, he also famous in a third genre: the history play.

Shakespeare’s history plays include Richard III, Henry V, Henry IV, Henry VI, and Julius Caesar, all which are based on historical narratives. Henry V is the true story of young Prince Hal (1386-1422), also referred to as Henry of Monmouth, who reigned from 1413-1422, during the Hundred Years’ War. While overall Henry V captures the events and the personality of history, the play is not fully accurate. Shakespeare created characters and enhanced aspects of the historical characters’ while also adding subplots in order to maintain the attention of the audience. The intriguing aspects of Henry V, however, are not simply Shakespearean inventions. The facts of history, especially the tension between France and England as well the details of Henry’s life, are compellingly dramatic.

Young Hal has an interesting familial story as he did not grow up with his father, Henry Bolingbroke, but was raised in the court of his cousin, Richard II. One result of the separation of Prince Hal and his father was a difference in politics. Bolingbroke led a failed coup against Richard II and was exiled for much of his son’s youth. Eventually, Bolingbroke succeeded in overthrowing Richard II and replaced him on the throne, making young Hal the heir. When young Hal was sixteen, he fought in a battle where he was struck with an arrow in the face and survived. Henry of Monmouth’s early military experience probably led to his militaristic rule as king.

The Hundred Years’ War began in the 14^th century and spanned the reign of five English kings. Essentially a land dispute between the English Monarchy and the French House of Valois, the conflict began when English kings claimed to be heirs to the King of France, Charles IV. In Shakespeare’s version, the Hundred War almost instantly ended with the Treaty of Troyes, which hinged on Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Valois (the French King’s daughter) and legitimated his claim as King of France following Catherine’s father’s death.

Overall Henry V is about a hero leading his people through a tough time. This theme is something that has been relevant within the past twenty years. Although Shakespeare embellished the story a bit, he is pretty spot on with the events Henry went through. This play is an excellent example showing a strong leader leading people through a dark period, which is extremely relevant in modern times.

Emma Loney