We few, we happy few
IVOR NOVELLO
Where: The famous matinee idol and composer appeared in a 1938 production of Henry V at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, under the direction of Lewis Casson. What the critics said: Novello was known for his musical theatre – in fact, his series of musicals saved the Theatre Royal from closure in the mid 1930s, leading him to be dubbed the ‘King of Drury Lane’ – but Henry V was his Shakespearean debut. The 45-year-old actor was deemed too old by many to play the youthful king, and although the production featured a lavish set and a powerful score, it was a commercial flop. Theatre expert Elizabeth Sharland commented that ‘the Munich crisis took people’s minds off the theatre’ – a factor that also contributed to Novello’s shortened run.
Insider view: The Sunday Times critic went so far as to criticise the Bard himself, saying: ‘Shakespeare, in this theatre, is not a man wooing a new mistress, but an old mistress trying to creep back into favour.’ Shakespeare did not feature at the Theatre Royal again until 1957, when John Gielgud starred in The Tempest.
RICHARD BURTON
Where: In 1951, a then relatively unknown Richard Burton arrived in Stratford to appear in Henry V. The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was staging a series of Shakespeare’s history plays as part of the summer-long Festival of Britain. What the critics said: Burton was credited with taking a more sensitive and subtle approach to the warrior king. He also played the role of Prince Hal in Henry IV during the festival, with critic Kenneth Tynan describing him as ‘a brimming pool running disturbingly deep… [He] turned interested speculation to awe almost as soon as he started to speak; in the first intermission, local critics stood agape in the lobbies.’ By the end of the run Burton had become a huge star, and a Hollywood career followed.
Insider view: Burton’s former schoolteacher and guardian, Philip Burton, insisted on accompanying the young actor during the season. His opinions on how Burton should portray the part is said to have caused many arguments with director Anthony Quayle.
Laurence Olivier
Where: Arguably the most famous Henry V, Olivier played the character both on stage in a 1937 Old Vic production and on film in the 1944 adaptation, which he also directed. On stage, he was directed by Tyrone Guthrie and starred alongside fellow thespian heavyweight, Alec Guinness. What the critics said: Esteemed theatre critic, Gordon Crosse, famously criticised the ethics of the stage production, labelling it a ‘pacifist tract’ with Olivier’s Henry ‘trying to make up his mind about the war’. The audiences, however, were won over. By the end of the season (which had also seen him play Hamlet and Macbeth) Olivier had established his reputation as one of the greatest Shakespearean actors in England. Olivier’s 1944 film was widely celebrated, with critic James Agee touting it as ‘one of the cinema’s great works of art’. It was not released in the US until 1946, after which Olivier was honoured with a special Academy Award for ‘his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen’.
Insider view: Olivier’s son Richard revealed in an interview that his father ‘got to the point that he was so attached to the buzz that he would be depressed if he wasn’t working’.
Kenneth Branagh
Where: Like Olivier, Branagh has played Henry on stage and screen. He appeared in an RSC production in 1984, before starring in and directing his own film version in 1989.
What the critics said: Branagh was only 24 years old when he took on the stage role, which was praised for focusing on the youth of Henry as well as his military prowess. His bloody, action-packed film version was lauded for bringing the production to a new generation. Critic Roger Ebert remarked: ‘I was emotionally stirred even though I had heard [the speeches] many times before. That is one test of a great Shakespearean actor: to take the familiar and make it new.’ The film grossed $10m at the US box office.
Insider view: Said Branagh: ‘The more I worked on it over the years, the more it seemed to me a perfect play with which to convince the larger audience that Shakespeare could be exciting, understandable, and full of meaning for me and for many of us living at the end of the 20th century.’
Iain Glen
Where: Glen’s 1994 Henry V was both a strong military figure and a deeply spiritual man who frequently clutched a crucifix. Glen was directed for the RSC by Matthew Warchus, who was just 27 years old at the time (incidentally, the same age Henry was when he fought at Agincourt). What the critics said: The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer wrote that the production, which featured red poppies on some of the costumes, ‘reminded us of modern parallels’ without depriving us of ‘the clanking of armour’. Spencer praised both Glen and Warchus, stating that the production would ‘undoubtedly be remembered for the achievements of two young men of outstanding talent.’
Insider view: Glen revealed that taking on the role was ‘a huge commitment’ and that he had ‘lots of fears about inadequacy and the inability to do a part’. Glen’s stage career continued to go from strength to strength, and he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his role in 1998’s The Blue Room.
Who was Henry?
Henry V took the throne in 1413. The son of Henry IV, who usurped the throne of Richard II, he was England’s second Lancastrian king.He is most famous for winning the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, at which his small, hungry and increasingly sickly army (largely made up of archers) crushed a vast force of French knights.
By 1422, however, he had died, after suffering from a vicious bout of dysentery aged just 35. He was succeeded by his son, Henry VI.
In Shakespeare’s history plays, Henry morphs from being the young scoundrel in the two Henry IV plays to the all-conquering warrior king of Henry V.