HENRY IV PARTS 1 & 2 (SHAKESPEARE HAPPY HOURS)****

 

By Alan

Link for Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_PC19kJl2Q&t=5s

Link for Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=584RluWxGts

Available until: Indefinitely

Once upon a time there was a Prince named Hal. His father was the King and as Hal was the oldest son he would become king when his father died. However Hal did not want to be king. He was far too busy drinking in taverns and playing tricks upon his friends to have any interest in ruling a whole country. King Henry IV despaired of his son and his undesirable friends but he had other matters to command his attention. His old enemy Hotspur was leading a rebellion against Henry IV so the king had to gather his Arsenal against him – and he also had to fight a battle wish himself when his health began to fail.

I think the 90 minute versions of Shakespeare plays (though both these were slightly longer) tell the stories very well and it is nice to see the close ups of people’s faces with the character names so you know who everyone is. The battle scenes don’t work so well on Zoom but the actors didn’t have much choice about that.

These plays are not a good way of learning history because Shakespeare has made things up and made things happen at different times but it’s a good play for entertainment.

I really like the music too. It is called Days Pass by ANBR and I think it would be a good paso doble on Strictly Come Dancing.

Jerome Harmann-Hardemann has a strong physical presence as Henry IV. I could believe he was a king. I liked the way he slowly got physically weaker as Henry IV became more ill but his personality stayed the same. Alex Hernandez is very funny as Hal. He is like a rebellious teenage boy and there is something very likeable about him. Daniel Kemper is dangerous as Hotspur. I think Henry IV is brave to take him on but I suppose he has to really. Jimmy Sears is a good comedian so he was very good as Falstaff. He is not a very good man but I couldn’t help liking him just like Elizabeth I did. He is fun and cheeky. Casterline Villar is quite scary as Mistress Quickly. I expected her to be a bit more relaxed (and a lot older) but I liked her and maybe you need to be scary sometimes when you’re dealing with Falstaff. Celeste Perez does some really good singing as Lady Mortimer. She is as good as some of the singers in operas and musicals I have seen. She was really good as Westmoreland too. Dan Beaulieu had quite a small role as Francis but he was memorable because he was funny just when he moved. I liked Doll Tearsheet’s complete lack of class (I am not sure who plays her) and it was funny that Northumberland (Christine Penney) had a car and the Duke of Gloucester (William Sutton) had a mask like for coronavirus when he visited Henry IV when he was ill.

Happy Hours does genderblind and colourblind casting. I think this is a good thing. It doesn’t seem strange to me if a male character is played by a woman and I think it is good that people from all ethnicities are able to play some great roles.