Henry V

1.4.9 Productions Henry V

Director – Andrew Chesney   

Choreographer– N/A

Musical Director - N/A 

      

Performed at Brentwood Theatre on 21st March 2024 at 7.30pm

 

As we took our seats, the stage was bare. A simple rostra at the back of an all black stage.

The chorus (Hannah Brent and Bryony Colton) set the tone for the evenings performance.

Hannah Brent was captivating. Every time she spoke, I could feel myself edging forward on my seat. Shakespeare is like listening to another language so it's a true skill to use facial expressions, tone and body language to convey the story.

I was also blown away by Hannah's portrayal of the French soldier. 

Bryony Colton was equally wonderful in her portrayal of Lady Grey. 

Andrew Chesney as King Henry IV was fantastic and left me wanting more. The emotion and conviction in his performance was outstanding.

Andrew Spong gave us a very human King Henry V. Although he had very questionable morals and was incredibly childish, I couldn't seem to help liking him. Kudos to Andrew for continuing with the show as I understand there was a family emergency earlier that day, so to witness such a dedicated and genuine performance was very inspiring.

El Burgess (Boy and Katherine) also impressed with her fluent French. To have an audience laughing at her jokes, in another language, really shows how impeccable the delivery was.

I was pleased to see more of Jake Portsmouth (Lord Scroop/Orleans/Williams) in Act 2 where he really got to show off his fine acting skills and I utterly enjoyed the true Shakespearian performance from Vernon Keeble-Watson (King of France) and David Waters (Ancient Pistol) who put me in mind of Mercutio from the film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. 

Shakespeare is undeniably long in running time and there were times where my attention wasn't held enough, with some added scenes which perhaps went on a little too long, such as the “Vindaloo” marching routine.

Some excellent choices were made during other scenes and I was moved to tears by the slow motion battle scene. 

What impressed me above everything was the use of lighting and sound. Hats off to Emily Caitlin and Paul Hollingsworth. This was truly exceptional and the surprise use of projection when Colin Richardson (Bardolf) was hung will stay with me for a long time. 

Costumes and props were simple but effective.

Congratulations to Andrew on a strong debut as director and to all involved.

 

Natalie Hills

District 10

NODA East

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