"Henry V" Has Catawba Ties and Marries Comedy, History

EDITOR'S NOTE: Catawba College professors Missy Barnes and Bethany Sinnott and alumna Brie Smith are among the creative team behind this production, which they hope might lead to an annual summer Shakespeare event in Salisbury. Barnes and Smith are cast members, as well as current students majoring ... EDITOR'S NOTE: Catawba College professors Missy Barnes and Bethany Sinnott and alumna Brie Smith are among the creative team behind this production, which they hope might lead to an annual summer Shakespeare event in Salisbury. Barnes and Smith are cast members, as well as current students majoring in Theatre Arts at Catawba. Source: SalisburyPost.com

Those who think that Shakespeare's history plays are tedious and long will be pleasantly surprised by Lee Street Theatre's upcoming production of Henry V. Funny and fast-paced, this show is true to the Elizabethan tradition of popular entertainment. "For a heroic saga," director Joe Falocco notes, "this play has an awful lot of jokes."

The playwright juxtaposes Henry's lofty inspirational verse with prose comedy that focuses on bilingual efforts to woo Princess Katherine of France. This production's abridged script also reflects the practices of Elizabethan theatre.

"Most modern stagings of Shakespeare are too long," Falocco says. "The 'acting edition' of Henry V used by Shakespeare’s company (as evidenced by the Quarto of 1600) would have run about an hour and 20 minutes: just a little bit longer than our production" (which lasts one hour). Read more...

RELATED CONTENT:

FULL STORY: 'Henry V' Marries Comedy, History (SalisburyPost.com)

Theatre Arts

English