Henry V Casting Announced
HENRY V
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon: 12 September – 25 October 2015
Live from Stratford-upon-Avon: 21 October 2015
Barbican, London: 7 November – 30 December 2015
KING & COUNTRY: RICHARD II, HENRY IV PARTS I AND II AND HENRY V
Barbican, London: 12 – 24 January 2016
Gregory Doran, RSC Artistic Director, continues his exploration through Shakespeare's History plays as he directs Henry V, opening in Stratford-upon-Avon, before being broadcast to cinemas and transferring to the Barbican in London.
Alex Hassell, who played Prince Hal in both productions of Henry IV and recently played Biff Loman in Doran's production of Death of a Salesman, plays the title role of King Henry.
Doran's History tetralogy culminates in January 2016 at the Barbican in London, with a major theatrical event marking the start of the 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare's death, King & Country, a complete 4-play season cycle of Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II and Henry V playing in repertoire. Following the Barbican season, Henry IV Parts I and II and Henry V tour to China and are then re-joined by Richard II in Spring 2016 for an exclusive season in the US, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
The RSC is delighted to announce J.P. Morgan as the Global Tour Premier Partner for all four productions. J.P. Morgan will be supporting the upcoming tour in the UK, US and China where the RSC will perform Shakespeare's History Plays.
October 2015, also marks the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt whilst Henry Vperforms in Stratford-upon-Avon, bringing added resonance to the play which uses the battle as the famous centrepiece of Henry V's reign.
With the start of rehearsals for Henry V, the RSC begins the first pilot in the initiative to produce new, theatrically viable, Chinese translations of all Shakespeare's 36 plays, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the First Folio in 2023. The RSC will create the translations in collaboration with Chinese writers and translators, who will be embedded into the RSC's rehearsal process. Professor Zhang Chong, from Shanghai's Fudan University will be the translator for Henry V working alongside playwright and Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, Nick Yu.
The full cast for Henry V includes: Daniel Abbott (Gloucester/Monsieur le Fer); Martin Bassindale (Boy); Antony Byrne (Pistol); Sean Chapman (Exeter); Oliver Ford Davies (Chorus), Nicholas Gerard-Martin (Orleans/Bishop of Ely); Robert Gilbert(Dauphin); Alex Hassell (Henry V); Jim Hooper (Canterbury/Erpingham); Jennifer Kirby (Katherine); Jane Lapotaire (Queen Isobel); Sam Marks (Constable of France);Dale Mathurin (Bates/Bedford); Chris Middleton (Nym/Warwick/Governor of Harfleur);Evelyn Miller (Rambures/Lady-in-Waiting); Keith Osborn (Montjoy/Scroop); Sarah Parks (Mistress Quickly); Leigh Quinn (Alice); Joshua Richards (Bardolph/Fluellen);Simon Thorp (King of France); Obioma Ugoala (Grey/Gower); Andrew Westfield(Westmoreland/MacMorris) and Simon Yadoo (Cambridge/Williams/Jamy).
The Henry V Company will perform across all four plays of the King & Country cycle and are joined by David Tennant (Richard II); Julian Glover (John of Gaunt); Jasper Britton (Bolingbroke/Henry IV); Matthew Needham (Harry Percy/Hotspur/Mowbray),Emma King (Lady-in-Waiting/Lady Mortimer/Doll Tearsheet) and Antony Sher (Falstaff).
The productions are designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis with lighting by Tim Mitchell. The music is composed by Paul Englishby with sound by Martin Slavin. The Movement director is Mike Ashcroft and the Fight director is Terry King.
Henry V will be broadcast 'Live from Stratford-upon-Avon' to cinemas in collaboration with Picturehouse Entertainment on 21 October 2015.
Notes to Editors
For further information, please contact philippa.harland@rsc.org.uk 0207 845 0512 oramy.belson@rsc.org.uk 01789 412622.
For press tickets please contact dean.asker@rsc.org.uk 01789 412660
To book tickets call 01789 403493 or online at www.rsc.org.uk
On Twitter @theRSC @RSCPress
On Facebook www.Facebook.com/theRSC
On our London website www.rschistories.org.uk
Henry V press performances:
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon: Tuesday 22 September 2015, 7pm
Barbican, London: Wednesday 11 November 2015, 7pm
Production Access Information: www.rsc.org.uk/visit-us/access.aspx
Henry V
Captioned performances:
Thursday 8 October, 7.15pm – Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Wednesday 2 December, 7.15pm – Barbican
Audio Described performances:
Saturday 10 October, 7.15pm (Touch tour 5pm) – Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Saturday 24 October, 1.15pm (Touch tour 11am) – Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Wednesday 25 November, 7.15pm (Touch tour 5.15pm) - Barbican
BP £5 tickets and BP Shakespeare Pass for 16-25s
The BP £5 tickets and BP Shakespeare Pass for 16 – 25 year olds gives access to £5 tickets for all RSC productions whether we are performing in Stratford-upon-Avon, London or on tour. The pass enables 16-25 year olds to see five shows in Stratford-upon-Avon for £20 – the cheapest way to enjoy shows at the RSC. Tickets can be booked in advance on the phone, online or in person with some available for sale on the day of the performance. The scheme is supported by Project Partner, BP.
About J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com
The RSC Ensemble is generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION
Live from Stratford-upon-Avon is generously supported by SIDNEY E. FRANK FOUNDATION
Henry V is supported by The Mark Pigott KBE family
The Royal Shakespeare Company in America is presented in collaboration with The Ohio State University
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world.
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Live from Stratford-upon-Avon:
As well as streaming the shows live into cinemas around the world, the RSC also offered another unique opportunity to schools across the UK to experience some of our productions in classrooms, with a live Q&A following the screening. Henry V will be screened in schools on Thursday 19 November 2015.
This hugely popular initiative is made possible through collaboration with Ravensbourne College. Alongside the webcast, the RSC created an extensive package of online resources for use by teachers and students in the classroom, both in the lead up to the broadcast and for use as follow up materials afterwards.
Shakespeare teachers' packs including resources from Doran's Henry V and the other History plays in the tetralogy are available here: www.rsc.org.uk/education/online-resources/shakespeare-teachers-pack.aspx
The RSC has started capturing its live musical scores and selected speeches along with recordings from our extensive musical archive which are available to download or buy on CD from our online shop: http://www.rsc.org.uk/shop/ So far these include Richard II, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Henry IV, Parts I and II and Love's Labour's Lost/Love's Labour's Won.
