Harry the Sixth
By William Shakespeare
From 23 July
Playing at the Globe and touring the UK
CREATIVES
Directed by
Nick Bagnall
Designed by
Ti Green
Composed by
Alex Baranowski
CAST
Graham Butler
King Henry VI
Garry Cooper
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester / Old Clifford / Father Who Killed His Son
Mary Doherty
Queen Margaret
Roger Evans
Duke of Suffolk / Jack Cade / Montague
Mike Grady
Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester / Alexander Iden / Lord Hastings
Simon Harrison
Charles the Dauphin / Richard (Later Duke of Gloucester)
David Hartley
Young Clifford / Duke of Somerset
Nigel Hastings
Duke of Exeter / Duke of Burgundy / Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March / Dick the Butcher
Joe Jameson
John Talbot / Edmund, Earl of Rutland / Son Who Killed His Father / Bastard of Orleans / Duke of Buckingham / Prince Edward
Patrick Myles
Reignier, Duke of Anjou / Edward, Earl of March (later King Edward IV)
Brendan O’Hea
Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York / Lewis XI, King of France / Duke / Earl of Somerset
Gareth Pierce
Duke of Alençon / George, Duke of Clarence / Smith the Weaver
Beatriz Romilly
Joan of Arc / Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester / Lady Grey
Andrew Sheridan
Earl of Warwick / Lord Talbot
'Of all base passions, fear is the most accursed.'
Following the death of Henry V, celebrated for having united England and subjugated France, divisions appear at the highest levels – first between those around the infant Henry VI, later between the two great factions in English politics: the houses of Lancaster and York. Only the young Lord Talbot, locked in combat with the bewitching and enigmatic Joan of Arc, seems capable of redeeming a divided and dishonoured kingdom.
The plays which make up Shakespeare’s Henry VI create a world without ideology; a savage time, when the heroes are not kings, but formidable women, such as Joan of Arc, or rebels, such as Jack Cade.
Bold characterisation, black comedy, rhetorical power and, in the personality of Henry VI, touching pathos combine in Shakespeare’s powerful rendering of a country racked by civil war.
Shakespeare almost certainly did not set out to write a trilogy. Each play can be enjoyed without knowledge of the others.
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Related Events
Please note: tickets for all related events are sold separately to tickets for performances.
Perspectives
Platform discussion providing further insights into the play
Wednesday 4 September
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