King Henry V (Shakespeare in Production Series) Book

This is the first stage history of Shakespeare's King Henry V to cover the play's theatrical life since its first performance in 1599. Staging this play has always been a political act and the substantial introduction traces its theatrical interventions into conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to Vietnam and the Falklands crisis, offering a complete account of the play's fortunes: from its absence in the seventeenth century to its dominant position as historical spectacle in the Victorian period, through twentieth-century productions, which include the popular films by Olivier and Branagh. Together they raise vital interpretive questions: is Henry V an epic of English nationalism, a knowing and cynical piece of power politics, or an anti-war manifesto? The volume also includes the playtext, illustrations and detailed footnotes about major performances.

Booknews

Materials such as eye-witness accounts, additions, rewrites, criticism, and promptbook marginalia are presented alongside the New Cambridge Shakespeare text of the play. Emma Smith's (Hertford College, Oxford) introduction discusses in detail some of the major productions of the play from its debut at the Globe Theater in 1599 to the 21st century. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)