Tag Archives: Henry IV Part 1

Shakespeare and the Welsh “Upon St Davy’s day”

Every first of March the Welsh celebrate St David’s Day. Shakespeare was well aware of this: in Henry V the Welsh Captain Fluellen says to the King: I do believe your majesty takes no scorn To wear a leek upon … Continue reading

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Antony Sher playing Shakespeare’s fat knight

The Radio 4 Book of the Week beginning on 4 May 2015 was Antony Sher’s  Year of the Fat Knight: the Falstaff Diaries, his account of  the process of preparing for and performing Falstaff in Henry IV parts 1 and … Continue reading

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Cross-gender casting for Hamlet and Henry IV

Gender issues in the performance of Shakespeare’s plays are being discussed in the press again with Maxine Peake playing Hamlet in a production at the Manchester Royal Exchange. Here is the review from the Observer by Susannah Clapp, and that … Continue reading

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Henry IV Part 1: relaying the live event

Earlier this week I attended the performance of Henry IV Part 1 performed at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, that was being simultaneously broadcast to cinemas around the UK, and is to be shown in schools, around the world and eventually … Continue reading

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Falstaff and the loss of Merrie England

This week Sir Antony Sher takes on the role of one of Shakespeare’s most famous characters, Sir John Falstaff, in the first of the Henry IV plays, for the RSC. It’s a role that has attracted many of the greatest … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s Welsh

The Welsh are rightly proud of their national history and heritage, but they haven’t always been represented seriously in literature and the media. Even in Shakespeare’s day efforts were made to set the record straight by drawing attention to the … Continue reading

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Opening the Olympics: Danny Boyle’s debt to William Blake

Danny Boyle’s Olympic opening ceremony has set off so much discussion that John Wyver of Illuminations has now posted three blog posts each listing ten different pieces that have appeared in the press looking at the event from different viewpoints. Here’s the … Continue reading

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