Returning for its fourth year to delight audiences around the UK, Antic Disposition’s critically acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s Henry V will embark on a historical tour of ten of the most beautiful and significant cathedrals. Coinciding with the centenary of the First World War Armistice on 11th November, Henry V will conclude with a special run at William Shakespeare’s burial place, Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.
As the largest theatrical tour of English cathedrals ever undertaken, this will be Antic Disposition’s longest and most wide-ranging UK tour to date. By the end of 2018, the production will have visited twenty of England’s forty-two cathedrals, from Durham in the north to Winchester in the south, Norwich in the east to Exeter in the west.
Antic Disposition’s reimagining is set in a French military hospital in 1915 – 500 years after the Battle of Agincourt – where two groups of wounded French and British soldiers decide to raise their spirits by staging their own production of Henry V. Performed by an international cast of twelve British and French actors, this production celebrates the rich and often turbulent historical relationship between England and France, from the Hundred Years War to the Entente Cordiale.
In a powerful tribute to the young soldiers caught up in conflicts five centuries apart, Antic Disposition’s Henry V moves effortlessly between 1415 and 1915. This adaptation combines Shakespeare’s epic history play with original songs and live music inspired by the poetry of A E Housman, specially composed by Christopher Peake. This production also features an [2] arrangement of Housman’s The Lads in their Hundreds by George Butterworth, a young English composer who was himself killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Directors Ben Horslen and John Risebero comment: “Over the last four years this production has been a constant feature in our lives, and as the centenary of the Great War comes to a close, it feels fitting that we revive it once more to mark the end of the conflict. Henry V has been a very special project, not least the experience of working with the amazing ͚band of brothers͛ – and sisters – who have joined us on the journey. We are very excited to be sharing the production with new audiences across the UK on our largest tour to date, and hugely grateful to our cathedral hosts for the opportunity to be part of their commemorative programmes.”
Antic Disposition’s production of Henry V was first staged in August 2015, marking both the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt and the centenary of the First World War. The production was performed in ten open-air locations in France, followed by a run in Temple Church in London. Henry V was revived in spring 2016 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, where it was performed in Middle Temple Hall in London followed by a tour of eight cathedrals and major churches around the UK. A second cathedral tour took place in February 2017, visiting a further eight cathedrals around the UK. Additionally, in January 2018 Antic Disposition’s Henry V was performed at the Théâtre National de Nice in France, as part of the annual ShakeNice! Festival – one of only a handful of productions of Shakespeare’s play ever to be performed in a major French theatre.
