Watch our British Sign Language synopsis of Henry VI: Rebellion and Wars of the Roses.

Rebellion

King Henry marries the French Princess Margaret, organised by his friend the Duke of Suffolk, creating peace between the two countries. The Duke of Gloucester, Henry’s Uncle and Lord Protector, is unhappy with the match, as it means England lose more territories in France. The other English nobles plot to get rid of Gloucester. They entrap his wife Eleanor in a plot that exposes her treason towards Henry. This impacts on Gloucester, having him lose favour with Henry, giving up his position as Lord Protector over the crown and country. This event makes Henry a true King. Gloucester is arrested and murdered in prison. Henry rightfully accuses Suffolk of his murder, banishing Suffolk from England. The instability in Henry’s court creates an opportunity for the Duke of York to build allies who support his claim to the crown. He organises more disruption in England by asking a soldier called Jack Cade to rally the people of England. This causes an uprising across London. The rebels are quelled, but news soon arrives that York has roused an army to follow him.

Wars of the Roses

For the first time, the armies of Lancaster and York face each other at the battle of St Albans. After winning the battle, the Duke of York, Richard Plantagenet, sits on the throne of England. This is short lived, as Henry strikes a deal with York, naming York and his sons as heirs to the crown when Henry’s reign comes to a natural end. Margaret is furious by this news, as it disinherits their son Edward. She raises her own army to surprise York in his castle in Wakefield. The unsuspecting York is captured and killed by Margaret. York’s sons Edward, Richard and George are told of their father's murder and unite with Warwick, who proclaims Edward the new Duke of York, and rightful heir. They raise an army and defeat the Lancastrians at Towton. Henry, Margaret and their son are forced to flee north. Henry is captured and brought to London, where he is placed in the Tower by the new King, Edward. In France, Margaret and Warwick meet at the court of King Louis. News reaches them that Edward has married Lady Elizabeth Grey, in spite of his agreement to marry Louis' sister, Lady Bona. This insult turns Warwick against Edward. The forces of Edward and Warwick meet at Barnet, where Warwick is killed. Margaret arrives in England with reinforcements. Her forces encounter Edward's for the last time at Tewkesbury, where, after much bloodshed, the Yorkists are victorious. Richard meets Henry in the tower and kills him and begins to plot his own route to take the crown for himself.

This is a performance activity to help students understand the complex story beats, allowing them to recognise and explore the key plot points of these history plays.

(You will need ‘Henry VI: Rebellion and Wars of the Roses in 10 parts’ from the resources section at the end of the page and some pens and paper. Activity time is approximately 30 minutes).

• Organise your students into 10 groups and give each group ONE of the 10 scenes. (With smaller numbers, you can give groups more than one scene.)
• Ask each group to read through their scene(s) firstly looking at what events happen, and what feels out of the ordinary e.g. plotting death, witchcraft, and murder.  
• Then ask each group to decide which part of their section is the MOST IMPORTANT. Explain that they will now have 15 minutes to cast and rehearse their scene for performance, making sure they focus on portraying their chosen story beat clearly.
• Encourage them to use different ways to present their scene: tableaux, use of gesture, narration. Stress every member of the group must be used.
• Invite the groups to perform their scene in the numbered order. After all groups have performed, encourage positive feedback: Which key moments stood out and why? What do they think the plays are about? Who do they think this play is about? What elements do we feel are missing? What might we change to make it clearer?

(You will need the 'Houses of Lancaster and York Family Tree' from the resource section at the end of the page. Activity time is approximately 30 minutes).

• Hand out copies of the family tree to each of the groups.
• Ask them to look at the family tree and to see what they notice.
• Then ask students to discuss in groups what surprises them about the family tree.
• Open a discussion, ask the groups to feedback on what they discovered. What does it reveal about the characters? Does it make anything clearer about why people did what they did?

Rebellion explores the class divide and has scenes and pageants that introduce the people of England into the play.

These practical performance-based activities will help students gain insights into aspects of people in medieval England.

• Explain to students they are going to be exploring what it would be like to be an apprentice. 
• Ask students if they know what an apprentice does or if they could talk about what an apprenticeship might be.
• Steer the conversation so that you can introduce facts about apprentices from the medieval period.

These facts are based on an armourer's apprentice, just like Peter, one of the apprentices in the play, who goes to court with a petition, to make a complaint about his Master, Horner

Facts:

• Teenagers weren’t a concept in the medieval period. You went from being a child into work or training and were treated like an adult.
• Most apprentices started their training in their early teens. 
• Training could last up to seven years, so that the apprentice could perfect their craft.
• Apprentices weren’t paid, but were provided with a place to sleep, food, and clothing.
• Being an armourer was a well-respected trade.

Stepping into the world

• Ask students to find a space in the room, and explain they are going to imagine a day in the life of an armourer’s apprentice.
• Ask students to be aware that although they are working in a room with each other, they should do this activity alone.
• Explain that they are going to imagine what each hour of the day would be like for an apprentice. Encourage them to explore this in different ways. They might act out the action, and mime, as they move through the day. Ask them to move to a different location in the room each time they imagine they are somewhere new. They may not move that much, which might be an interesting point of discussion after the exercise.
• Start at 6am, asking them to think about what they would be doing; Where are they? Are they alone? Remind them to answer these questions with what they are doing in the space.
• Allow a minute or two for each hour, and work sequentially from 6am to 6pm each time telling them the time. Ask them to think about where they are and what they are doing. A few helpful prompts might be that the majority of apprentices were illiterate, so wouldn’t even be able to read for entertainment, and food would be less varied than what we have nowadays.
• At the end of the exercise arrange them in pairs, and ask two questions; What did they discover? How is it different from nowadays? After two minutes’ reflection, ask them to feedback and discuss what they discovered.

For this performance activity you are going to need to use Henry VI Part 2 Act 1 Scene 3 Edited No.1 from the resource section at the end of the page. Activity time is approximately 20 minutes.

Explain to the students that they are going to do some table work to investigate a scene where they meet the apprentices.

Ask students to work in groups of at least five. Cast within the groups as Petitioner 1, Petitioner 2, Peter, Margaret and Suffolk (with any extra people being ‘directors’ in each group). Ask students to read through the scene, then ask them to identify:

• FACTS: things which we definitely know from the text.
• INFERENCES: things which we think we know from the text.
• QUESTIONS: things we want to know from the text.
• SHARE QUESTIONS: These questions or ‘creative gaps’ are where we must make interpretive choices. How can we help the audience to understand the status and power dynamics between Margaret, Suffolk and the Petitioners? How common is it for the petitioners to come to Westminster to make their supplications? What is the view of the petitioners towards Margaret and Suffolk, and vice versa?
• GENERATE IDEAS: Now get the groups to discuss ideas for bringing this scene to life in performance. After a couple of minutes of discussion ask them to share ideas.

This performance activity is in two parts to help students explore ideas around masculinity and leadership in relation to the character of Henry.

Part A: What We Know

Pre-lesson Prep: You will need some time to prep the materials provided in Text Scraps from the resources section at the end of this page about Henry. Copy and paste the text scraps into a word document, separating each quote onto a new page.

• Ask students to get into pairs. As they do this lay out the text scraps around the room.
• Give them three seconds to label themselves X and Y.
• Once they have decided explain Ys will go first. Xs will have their eyes closed, and Ys will have 3 minutes to lead Xs around the room stopping at each sheet of paper. Explain they will only be allowed to choose one word, the MOST INTERESTING word from each of the text scraps.
• Encourage Xs to really listen to these words and try to work out what sort of person is being described.
• At the end of the three minutes ask Xs to open their eyes, and discuss with their partner, what ideas they got about the character of the person who was being described.
• Invite the students to feed those thoughts back with the wider group.
• Now they are going to swap. Ys will have their eyes closed and Xs will lead them around, this time reading the whole text scrap.
• Ask Ys to really listen, and see if their opinion differs, as they hear the entire text scraps.
• After three minutes, again get the pairs to discuss before sharing back with the wider group.
• What did they discover? What felt clearer? What ideas do they draw from these words, around this individual’s character?
• Steer the conversation to think about weakness, and if Henry sounds weak, from what is said.

Part B: Henry’s speech

For this exercise you will need Henry VI: Part 3 Act 2 Scene 5 Edited from the resources section at the end of this page. Activity time is approximately 20 minutes.

• Ask students to each take a copy of the text and find a space in the room.
• Explain that when you say go, they will all walk through the space speaking the text out loud, instructing them to stop when they have said all the words.
• Ask them what they noticed; Words? Sentences? Ideas?
• Ask students to do the same exercise, but observing the full stops or exclamation points, or question marks. Each time they encounter any of them, ask them to change direction. Again, when they have reached the end of the text ask them to stop.
• This time ask them to get into pairs, and reflect on what they noticed about when they changed direction, what does it say about Henry’s thoughts? Based on what they know about how he is described, does this text back up, or contradict this idea of him being weak?
• Ask students to go back to working by themselves and apply their interpretation of Henry’s character to the text. How can they make it clear to an audience what sort of man Henry is? Who is he talking with? What is he witnessing? How does his view on war help support that interpretation? Give everyone 10 minutes to create a performance of the text.
• After 10 minutes invite some willing volunteers to share their interpretations of the text, and of Henry. What do other students notice about these interpretations? What does it say about how we view leaders, and more widely men?

Reflection Point

Following the reflection, explore further the expectations people think men face. What qualities do we expect men to have? What qualities do we expect leaders to have? Are those qualities different for individuals who identify as male? This may encourage a discussion about current leaders in the world. What do we see as weakness in those leaders, and what do we see as strengths? Would Henry be viewed differently now, in comparison to back then?

Margaret is actively silenced by The Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI Part 2 being told “these are no women's matters”. These performance exercises will allow students to examine how Margaret evolves through the two plays, to discover how she transforms through the tetralogy.

Part A: Off and On

Henry VI: Part 2 is constantly shifting between public and private moments. This exercise physically examines what that might feel like to constantly have to shift. Activity time is approximately 15 minutes.

• Invite students to stand in a space in the room, finding a sense of neutral in the body. Invite them to think about the word: On. What does that word mean, in terms of how they might hold themselves/ present themselves. Take that idea into the body.
• Ask them to take that idea of being “On” on a walk around the room. How do they take space? What speed do they travel at? How do they acknowledge other people?
• Now ask the students to stop. Shift their bodies back into neutral. This time ask them to think about the word: Off. What does that do to the body? Again, invite them to take that idea of being “Off” around the room. How is this different to being “On”? Has their speed changed? Has the way they take space changed? How do they acknowledge other people?
• Ask them to pause where they are and explain the exercise is going to develop. When GO is said they will start walking through the space in “ON” at any moment, you will call “OFF” or “ON” and students will have to shift between the two. As they do this ask them to think about how this feels.
• Pause the students again, and explain they are going to explore this even further. Choose one student who will be shifting between off and on. You might want to control this with the same principle of calling that instruction out, or enable the student selected to shift at will. Explain that the rest of the students will be “On”, except for the student who keeps shifting. Explain that their function is to serve that person. Reinforce this is a non-verbal exercise, so it’s thinking about how they can be “On” physically. You might want to use music to score this exercise, to help students not feel the need to speak. Allow the exercise to run for 3 to 4 minutes.
• At the end of the time ask students to reflect. How did they find shifting between the two? What was it like being “On” for someone who constantly shifted? How did it make people feel? Draw conclusions to how this relates to how Henry is within the play. So, this experience is as it might have been for Margaret, and the other members of the Court.  

Part B: Margaret’s Voice

(You will need Text One and Text Two in the resources section at the end of this page and some pencils. Activity time is approximately 30 minutes). 

• Ask students to split into pairs.
• Get them to label themselves X & Y
• Hand out the two speeches from Appendix E. Xs will get Text One and Ys will get Text Two.
• Ask students to sit closely, facing each other. Each person will take it in turns to read their speech aloud. Ask them to take their time, trying to take a line at the time, delivering it to their partner.
• Ask the person listening, to really notice what they hear. When each member of the pair finishes, ask them to consider if they get a sense of the person who is speaking or who they are speaking with. 

Echoing the Text

• After they have discussed their initial responses. Ask students to repeat the exercise of delivering the text to each other asking the listener to echo the words that feel important. Ask the speaker to mark in the echoed words as they work through the text.
• After each person has read, ask them to look at the words that have been echoed. What are the similarities? What are the differences? Ask them to consider if it sounds like the same person, and if Margaret is “Off” or “On” for each speech. Consider how Margaret goes from being concerned about the domestic, to speaking to a larger crowd and leading them.
• Ask students to break away from their partner and start working by themselves. Encourage them to apply what they have discovered. How old do they think Margaret is in each of these texts? How “Off” or “On” is she? Is there a moment where she might switch in the text? Who is she speaking with? Give everyone 10 minutes to create a performance of the text.
• After 10 minutes invite some willing volunteers to share their interpretations of the text. What do other students notice about these interpretations? Ask for positive feedback from the rest of the group. What did they like about the interpretation? What did they think worked? What felt clear?

Reflection Point

Do we still find Margaret’s transformation as something unexpected? How do we feel about the fact she was able to lead an army? Is that something that would have been surprising in the context of the time or is it still surprising today? Do we still think women are silenced? Is this different in women who operate in systems of political power, verses women in the everyday? Who can think of anything in the world right now where they see similarities? Or perhaps something personal students don’t mind sharing.

(You will need Henry VI Part 3 Act 1 Scene 3 Edited from the resources section at the end of this page. Activity time is approximately 20 minutes).  

This performance exercise looks at the pervasive language Rutland uses, encouraging students to think about how the words might begin to inform the action and violence of the scene.

• Ask students to form pairs. If there is an uneven number of students, additional individuals could be directors. Hand out a copy of the text. In their pairs they will quickly cast themselves as Rutland and Clifford.
• Invite students to sit back-to-back and read the scene out loud to each other, using their words to push against each other’s backs. Ask them to talk about what words they pushed on. What words had an impact?
•  Now ask them to stand, explaining they will read the scene again, but as they speak their line they will move around. The other person must remain still, until it is their turn to speak. Before they start, explain that this isn’t about trying to stage it, and therefore discourage anyone from trying to stage fight. Once they have completed the exercise ask them about what they notice about how much they speak. What might the short lines suggest?
•  Ask them to do the scene again but ask each of them to stand roughly three metres apart. As they start the scene, ask the person playing Clifford to move towards Rutland who cannot move; they must use just their words to try and stop Clifford. If the person playing Clifford hears anything that might make them stop, they stop still. Their own text might then prompt them to move again. After this exercise, ask them what they noticed about the stops and starts in the scene. Were there many? When were they? What might that suggest about how they might choose to stage the scene?
•  Invite the pairs to start to consider how they might stage the scene. Give them 10 minutes to work on staging it. Set up the framework of working safely by asking them to clap or stamp when they feel the urge to do something violent or physical to each other. How might that punctuated beat cause a reaction in the other person? Encourage them to start by thinking about the words, and how they can help. What happens if you try and have Clifford moving slowly? What keeps Rutland in the room? Are you surprised that Rutland suggests going after his family instead of him?
•  After 10 minutes invite some willing volunteers to share their interpretations of the scene. What do other students notice about these interpretations? Ask for positive feedback from the rest of the group. What did they like about the interpretation? What did they think worked? What felt clear?

This performance exercise is split into two parts. These activities will help students to consider how they might look at staging battles and war on stage, considering how they might try to capture the scale of battle in relation to how Shakespeare approached this challenge. Activity time is approximately 30 minutes.

Part A: Towton

• Split students into groups of roughly five or six.
• Explain that they are going to look at how they might stage the battle at Towton.

Share the following facts with them:

It was one of the battles that took place as part of the Wars of the Roses. Over 60,000 people fought, which is the equivalent to filling Wembley stadium to 80% capacity.

It is described as one of the bloodiest days in British history.

It was a battle between Lancastrians and Yorkists for the crown.

The Yorkists were victorious securing the crown for Edward, son of the Duke of York.

• Then explain they are going to create five still images or tableaux to depict the battle. Give them five minutes to create their tableaux.
• Ask them to think about plotting a clear story through. Therefore, image one should be the beginning, anticipation of the fight, each following image should be a progression of the day, until the victory of the Yorkists.
• After 5 minutes, explain they are going to have a further 5 minutes to think about how they might transition between each image. Explain that each transition is an opportunity to help show the energy of the battle, or the feeling. Invite them to think about how they might use the space and their voices to arrive in each image.
• Encourage each group to share their work. Ask the other members to notice how each group has interpreted the battle. What were the similarities? What differed? What did people like? How successful were they at showing the opposing groups? What worked? How successful was everyone to get the scale?
• After each group has shared, ask them how easy they found it to try and represent a battle of that scale. Was anyone able to find personal stories of individual soldiers’ experiences?

Part B – Shakespeare’s Interpretation of Towton

(You will need Henry VI Part 3 Act 2 Scene 5 Edited No.2 from the resources section at the end of this page. Activity time is approximately 20 minutes). 

• Explain to the students that they are now going to look at how Shakespeare attempted to stage Towton.
• Explain that they will remain in the groups that they have just worked in and hand out the edited scene. Ask them to cast themselves as the father, son and Henry, with the others listening to the text.
• Ask students to read the text aloud within their groups, and consider how Shakespeare has created the experience of Towton. What is different to the way they staged it? What is Shakespeare trying to do? What do the father and son add? What do they feel is missing? Invite them to share their reflections with the wider group.
• After the discussion, explain that they will have 15 minutes to look at staging the scene. Ask them to think about how they use the framework that Shakespeare gives them and draw from what they have created in the tableaux work from earlier. How might the transitions they have created help move between the different characters that speak? What can they do to add to the scene?
• After 15 minutes invite some willing volunteers to share their interpretations of the scene. What do other students notice about these interpretations? Ask for positive feedback from the rest of the group. What did they like about the interpretation? What did they think worked? What felt clear? Did you get a sense of scale?

Reflection Point

Is it important to give the experience of war a theatrical platform? Why might having us examine war from a personal point of view give us a different perspective? Can anyone think of examples of how war is covered, presented to us? What do those examples give us verses what Shakespeare is giving us? What do you think Shakespeare is getting us to think about? Are his ideas of war still relevant to explore 400 years later?