World's Mine Oyster Tour | 2014
The cast of HENRY IV, PART 1. Photo by PAT JARRETT. 2014.
The cast of HENRY IV, PART 1. Photo by PAT JARRETT. 2014.
Fernando Lambery and Patrick Earl in HENRY IV, PART 1. Photo by PAT JARRETT. 2014.
Rick Blunt in HENRY IV, PART 1. Photo by PAT JARRETT. 2014.
David Millstone and Patrick Earl in HENRY IV, PART 1. Photo by PAT JARRETT. 2014.
The cast of HENRY IV, PART 1. Photo by PAT JARRETT. 2014.
Patrick Midgley and Stephanie Holladay Earl in HENRY IV, PART 1. Photo by PAT JARRETT. 2014.
Cast
King Henry IV
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Dumaine, Holofernes in Love’s Labour’s Lost; Malvolio in Twelfth Night; Castruchio, Malateste in The Duchess of Malfi. OTHER THEATRES: Nixon in Frost/Nixon (Springer Opera House, Columbus, GA); …
Mercutio and Montague in Romeo and Juliet and Dromio of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors; Fight Captain
Prince John
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Emilia in Othello; Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Francis, Lady Mortimer, John of Lancaster in Henry IV, Part 1; Katherine, Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s …
Earl of Westmoreland
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Bianca, Clown in Othello; Ann Page, WIlliam Page, Rugby, Nym in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Westmoreland, Mistress Quickly, Archbishop of York in Henry IV, Part 1. …
Stephanie Holladay Earl is an accomplished actor, director, choreographer, & educator with over 15 years of experience, known for her impactful work.
Earl of Worcester
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Senator, Gentleman in Othello; Host, Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Worcester, Gadshill in Henry IV, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Dromio of Syracuse in The …
Earl of Northumberland
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Duke, Lodovico, Gentleman 1 in Othello; Sir Hugh in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Northumberland, Bardolph, Glendower, Sir Michael in Henry IV, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Claudius …
Stephanie Holladay Earl is an accomplished actor, director, choreographer, & educator with over 15 years of experience, known for her impactful work.
Owen Glendower
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Duke, Lodovico, Gentleman 1 in Othello; Sir Hugh in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Northumberland, Bardolph, Glendower, Sir Michael in Henry IV, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Claudius …
Edmund Mortimer
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Senator, Montano in Othello; Fenton, Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Peto, Mortimer, Douglas in Henry VI, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Romeo in Fatal Loins: Romeo and Juliet …
Lady Mortimer
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Emilia in Othello; Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Francis, Lady Mortimer, John of Lancaster in Henry IV, Part 1; Katherine, Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s …
Earl of Douglas
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Senator, Montano in Othello; Fenton, Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Peto, Mortimer, Douglas in Henry VI, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Romeo in Fatal Loins: Romeo and Juliet …
Sir Richard Vernon
THIS SEASON: Othello in Othello; Master Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Poins, Vernon in Henry IV, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Macbeth in Macbeth (Mainestage Shakespeare, Scarsdale, NY); Carlo …
Archbishop of York
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Bianca, Clown in Othello; Ann Page, WIlliam Page, Rugby, Nym in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Westmoreland, Mistress Quickly, Archbishop of York in Henry IV, Part 1. …
Sir Michael
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Duke, Lodovico, Gentleman 1 in Othello; Sir Hugh in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Northumberland, Bardolph, Glendower, Sir Michael in Henry IV, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Claudius …
THIS SEASON: Host, Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Earl of Westmoreland, Mistress Quickly in Henry IV, Part 1…
Mistress Quickly
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Bianca, Clown in Othello; Ann Page, WIlliam Page, Rugby, Nym in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Westmoreland, Mistress Quickly, Archbishop of York in Henry IV, Part 1. …
Poins
THIS SEASON: Othello in Othello; Master Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Poins, Vernon in Henry IV, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Macbeth in Macbeth (Mainestage Shakespeare, Scarsdale, NY); Carlo …
Gadshill
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Senator, Gentleman in Othello; Host, Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Worcester, Gadshill in Henry IV, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Dromio of Syracuse in The …
Peto
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Senator, Montano in Othello; Fenton, Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Peto, Mortimer, Douglas in Henry VI, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Romeo in Fatal Loins: Romeo and Juliet …
Bardolph
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: Duke, Lodovico, Gentleman 1 in Othello; Sir Hugh in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Northumberland, Bardolph, Glendower, Sir Michael in Henry IV, Part 1. OTHER THEATRES: Claudius …
Artistic Team
Director
Jim Warren is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the American Shakespeare Center. He directed ASC’s first show, Richard III (in which he played Buckingham), and by the end of …
Assistant Director
Glenn Schudel holds an MFA from Mary Baldwin College’s program in Shakespeare and Performance. Between 2011 and 2015, he served as an assistant director and stage manager with the ASC. …
Fight Director
Benjamin has been an Artistic Associate with the American Shakespeare Center since 2001. He has toured the country twice as an actor (Bright Heaven of Invention and Excellent Motion tours) and once as the Company Manager for the Beguile the Rich tour.
Costume Designer
Erin has been designing and building costumes for the ASC since 2005. Past ASC shows she designed include: The Fair Maid of the West, Wild Oats, Romeo and Juliet (2009, …
Properties Master
Chris has been designing and building props for the ASC since 2012. In that time, he’s provided props for over 60 productions, including (from Shakespeare): The Merchant of Venice; The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Cymbeline; King John; Love’s Labour’s Lost; Twelfth Night; Julius Caesar; Henry VIII; The Two Noble Kinsmen; Romeo and Juliet; All’s Well That Ends Well; Troilus and Cressida; Othello; The Merry Wives of Windsor; Henry IV, Part 1; As You Like It; Timon of Athens; Macbeth; The Comedy of Errors; Pericles; Hamlet; Much Ado about Nothing; The Taming of the Shrew; Antony and Cleopatra; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Winter’s Tale; Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3; Henry V; The Tempest; Measure for Measure; and King Lear.
Wardrobe Manager
Mika Nesbit came to the American Shakespeare Center as an intern to work on the 2011 Summer and Fall Seasons. After graduating with a degree in Art and Theatre from …
Production Associate
Sam is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel who has worked in theatres across the United States. He is a technical director for the theatre department at Mary Baldwin College …
Welsh Consultant
Rob Clare was originally an actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company, before becoming a Staff Director at the UK National Theatre, and then both acting and directing for the major …
Welsh Consultant
Stuff that happens before the play
- King Richard II yields his crown to his cousin, Bullingbrook, making him King Henry IV.
- King Henry sends Richard to Pomfret castle where he is eventually killed by Henry’s supporters.
- At the close of Richard II (the play chronologically preceding Henry IV, Part 1), the newly enthroned Henry IV promises to make a penitential trip to the Holy Land.
stuff that happens during the play
- King Henry meets with his advisers to discuss his proposed crusade to the Holy Land, but the discussion turns to new battles on England’s northern borders.
- In the north, England’s forces have prevailed over the Scots, but the young English nobleman Harry Percy (Hotspur) won’t turn over his prisoners to King Henry.
- The King mourns the wanton behavior of his own Harry, his son, the Prince of Wales.
- The King puts off the crusade and calls a meeting with the Percy family.
- Away from court, Prince Hal and Sir John Falstaff taunt each other after a night of drinking. Their cohort Poins attempts to enlist them in an upcoming robbery; after Falstaff leaves, Poins persuades Hal to rob and embarrass Falstaff; after Poins leaves, Hal tells the audience his plans for the future.
- King Henry meets with Hotspur, Hotspur’s father (Northumberland), and Hotspur’s uncle (Worcester) to demand that Hotspur give up his prisoners. Hotspur agrees to do so only if the King will ransom Mortimer (Hotspur’s brother-in-law) from captivity in Wales. The King refuses.
- Hotspur’s family members agree on a plot to depose the King that involves Douglas (a Scottish warrior) and Glendower (a self-proclaimed Welsh wizard).
- Falstaff and his confederates (Peto, Bardolph, and Gadshill) rob some travelers and are, in turn, robbed by the disguised Prince Hal and Poins.
- Hotspur reads a letter from a nobleman who refuses to join the rebellion against King Henry. Hotspur’s wife (Lady Percy) asks Hotspur what’s troubling him.
- At a tavern in Eastcheap, Falstaff exaggerates and lies about the robbery. A nobleman brings a summons for Hal from the King.
- In Wales, the rebels plan their campaign against the royal forces and discuss the division of the kingdom they have yet to win.
- Honor, cowardice, bravery, growing-up, and civil wars ensue.
Many reasons to love 1H4
I have fallen in love with this extraordinary play many times for many reasons. Here are a few.
HENRY BULLINGBROOK IN R2
Richard II (R2) gives us the backstory of King Henry in Henry IV, Part 1 (1H4). Richard’s soaring poetry is countered by his cousin Henry Bullingbrook’s blunt language and steadfast purpose. After Richard banishes Bullingbrook, Bullingbrook’s father dies and Richard confiscates his lands to pay for Irish wars; Bullingbrook storms back from exile to reclaim his inheritance and he gains the backing of Northumberland and other nobles. When Bullingbrook vows to lay down his arms and support Richard if the King rescinds the banishment and restores his lands, Richard decides to give Henry Bullingbrook the crown instead. What?! Henry says “I come but for mine own” and Richard gives him the crown. Richard’s abdication, in Shakespeare’s story, is not usurpation, not regicide. It’s not Macbeth killing King Duncan, it’s not Claudius poisoning Hamlet Senior. Henry has done nothing wrong and he ends up on the throne. At the end of R2, King Henry laments the exploits and companions of his “unthrifty son,” one of Henry’s followers kills Richard, and Henry vows “I’ll make a voyage to the Holy Land
to wash this blood off from my guilty hand,” ending R2 with a powerful (and perhaps unwarranted) guilt that haunts him through the next chapter in 1H4. I love how Shakespeare fashions Bullingbrook’s journey to give us a complex King at the top of 1H4 rather than just a hard-line father/ruler with a stick up his nether regions.
FATHER/SON/REBEL
Against this political backdrop (which now includes a rebellion percolating with Northumberland’s family), Shakespeare shifts to explore the family dynamics of a father with expectations of his son who doesn’t act like an heir to the throne. While Shakespeare is drawing on English history to tell his story, he masterfully taps into the tensions between parents and children that have remained frustratingly true in every era. In addition to feeling the disappointment of an “underperforming” child (Prince Hal), King Henry praises the battlefield accomplishments of the son of Northumberland (Hotspur). Shakespeare masterfully gives us a father (a King) and son (an heir) in turmoil and a rival to that son (a rebel) who threatens the throne. On top of that powder keg, Shakespeare writes a soliloquy for the wayward Prince at the end of the second scene in which he clearly admits that he’s going to keep acting the role of a delinquent for a while, but when it’s time for him to be king, he will blow away the low expectations he’s set (which happens in Henry V). The palpable scenario of parent, child,
rival, and the collision course they’re on makes this play perfect for required reading in every American high school today.
FALSTAFF
The above setup makes for an amazing play. But Shakespeare gives us far more: he gives us Falstaff. If you don’t already know and love Falstaff, it might seem like hyperbole for me to agree with literary critic Harold Bloom’s assertion that Falstaff is a cornerstone of Shakespeare’s triumph in creating three-dimensional characters who not only transformed and transcended theatre, but invented human nature as we know
it today. Hyperbole or fact: Falstaff is a magnificent creation who is a father figure and roguish companion to the Prince, an abominable misleader of youth, a master actor, a monstrous liar, a mountain of fun, and the king of misrule in the Neverland of
Eastcheap. When Falstaff turns a joke-fest into something more serious by telling the Prince: “Banish plump Jack and banish all the world,” Hal responds: “I do, I will.” From his soliloquy about his future reformation to this foreshadowing of banishing Falstaff, the Prince is clear about how this buddy flick love story will end in Part Two of this saga.
We hope you enjoy Part One of the Father, Son, and Falstaff.
JIM WARREN
ASC Co-founder and Artistic Director