BREATH OF KINGS: REBELLION AND REDEMPTION by William Shakespeare, conceived and adapted by Graham Abbey (Stratford). At the Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford. Runs to September 24. $25-$189. 1-800-567-1600, stratfordfestival.ca. See listing. Rating: NNN
Graham Abbeys ambitious, sweeping distillation of four of Shakespeares English history plays Richard II, Henry IV Part One and Part Two and Henry V into a two-part production, Breath Of Kings: Rebellion and Redemption, has its highs and lows.
Directed by Weyni Mengesha and Mitchell Cushman, the shows look at the troubled politics that surround the throne the kings face internal rebellion, and, in the final quarter, a war with France, as well as the personal drama in each rulers life.
We come into the story during the reign of Richard II (Tom Rooney), proud, game-playing, witty and poetic. Because of Richard’s wavering loyalties and the ambition of Henry Bolingbroke (Abbey), Richard is deposed and Bolingbroke becomes Henry IV.
Henrys seemingly wayward son, Prince Hal (Araya Mengesha), keeps the company of rogues and scoundrels, primarily Falstaff (Geraint Wyn Davies), but Hal redeems himself by fighting on his fathers side against rebels led by the Earl Of Northumberland (Nigel Shawn Williams) and his son, Hotspur (Johnathan Sousa). In a decisive encounter, Hal kills Hotspur.
In Redemption, the second play, Henry IV has fallen ill and worries about the stress of ruling as well as Hals apparent return to his profligate ways. Hal proves his worth on the death on his father, becoming Henry V, and, in the epics final quarter, becomes a proper ruler and leads England to victory in France.
Thats a lot of story to cram into six hours, with 20 actors playing some 70 roles, large and small.
Narrative compression is part of the problem, since some characters appear for only two or three minutes yet have to make an impact as both storytellers and personalities. Some actors, like Kate Hennig, Irene Poole, Carly Street, Randy Hughson, Shane Carty, Anusree Roy and Michelle Giroux, capture the essence of those they portray (women are frequently cast in male roles), but others are less sure in their work.
You could also be forgiven for sometimes being unsure whos on which side of some of the political battles and whos plotting against whom.
Still, there are some solid episodes in both plays: Richard seizing a noblemans wealth, his public relinquishment of the throne to Bolingbroke, Falstaffs scenes with his henchmen, and Henry Vs wooing of the French princess.
On the whole, Redemption, the second part of the cycle works better, with sharp comedy in the alehouse, clearer characterizations and a more direct form of storytelling, especially in the Henry V section.
Too bad some of the key casting is shaky. Sousas Hotspur, all rant, fails to suggest other qualities beneath that fire. Mengeshas Hal/Henry V has presence, but his handling of the language is often weak. There are moments when he is convincing, such as the final rejection of his slippery drinking companions, but in others including Henrys two rousing, majestic speeches on the French battlefield his words are flat and uninspired.
Happily, other performers offer stirring portraits: Rooneys vacillating, mercurial Richard II, a comically drunk Justice Shallow and the Chorus in Henry V Abbeys troubled, guilt-ridden Henry IV Wyn Daviess wonderfully Rabelaisian, crowd-pleasing Falstaff and, in France, the stalwart Welsh captain, Fluellen Williams’s passionate Northumberland and Falstaffs clownish associate, Bardolph Mikaela Davies as both the French Dauphin and his sister Katherine, whose marriage to Henry V seals the wars end.
Even with its problems, this handsome production, designed by Anahita Dehbonehie (set), Yannik Larivee (costumes), Kimberly Purtell (lighting) and Debashis Sinha (composition and sound), is worth seeing for some excellent acting and a sense of the scope of Shakespeares most impressive history plays.
