Henry IV Part One, Keble O'Reilly Theatre
What is honour? A word.
What is in that word, ‘honour’? Air.
Who hath it? He that died o' Wednesday.
England is tearing itself apart in civil war. The King’s hair has turned white with news of the rebellion. Meanwhile, his son Prince Hal is torn between his easy-living friends in the taverns of Eastcheap, among them the infamous knight Sir John Falstaff, and his own duty to the King and the country.
FourSevenTwo Productions is delighted to bring a period staging of Shakespeare’s Henry IV: Part One to the Keble O’Reilly in Seventh Week of Trinity Term. With wit and warmth, the lively characters of this rarely performed work examine the nature of honour and identity, but as the rebellion breaks out into open warfare they will be forced to fight for their survival as well as their glory.
Cast and Crew
King Henry IV - Marcus Knight-Adams
Prince Henry - Max Cadman
Hotspur - Christopher Page
Sir John Falstaff - Jonny Wiles
Earl of Worcester - Ben Thorne
Sir Walter Blunt - Ffion Dash
Poins/Sir Richard Vernon - Jack Doyle
Early of Douglas/Gadshill - Harry Clements
Prince John/Sheriff - Chris Smart
Glendower/Earl of Westmoreland - Tom Mitty
Hostess - Laura Plumley
Lady Mortimer/Earl of Northumberland - Meg Harrington
Lady Percy/Peto - Anusia Battersby
Lord Mortimer/Francis - Joseph Shailer
Director - Miranda Mackay
Producer - Amy Thompson
Assistant Director - Ross Moncrieff
Set Designer - Laura de Lisle
Costume Designer - Hanna Høibø
Lighting Designers - Louise Drognat-Landre & Ben Darwent
LX Operator - Douglas Andrew
Sound Designer - Nat Davies
Set Consultant - Olive McAndrew
Fight Choreographer - Jennifer Hurd
Marketing Manager - Laura Plumley
Marketing Assistant - Isobel Hambleton
Marketing Associate - Catrin Haberfield
Press Officer - Olivia Bradley
Graphic Design - Guillermo Pernas Chamorro & Ben Darwent
Directors - Marine Lello
Stage Manager - Linette Chan and Morag Campbell
Assistant Stage Managers - Eloise Chambers, Alex Blanc, Ed Armstrong, Josie Western, Ilia Strigari
Praise for Henry IV Part One
Under the direction of Miranda Mackay, 472 have managed a skilful staging of Shakespeare’s classic.
The actors looked confident and fought fast, and some sequences felt so brutal that several audience members gasped at each seeming blow.
This production was the fruit of a great deal of intelligent consideration of text and dramatic possibility by director Miranda Mackay, her associates and her actors.
It is a testament to the quality of FourSevenTwo’s production of this relatively obscure play, then, and to Miranda Mackay’s marvelous direction, that whether or not you’re clued in to the historical backstory, the play’s own merits shine through.