Players of Shakespeare 6

This sixth volume of essays by members of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre is the first to focus on a single group of Shakespeare\'s plays. To celebrate the arrival of the new millennium the RSC presented productions of all eight of the history plays of the first and second Lancastrian tetralogies. Half of the twelve essays in this volume accordingly come from this important and historic cycle. Of the other six essays, from later productions, three are from the rarely performed King John, one from the even more rarely performed Edward III and the remaining two deal with the best-known title roles among the history plays, in two major recent independent productions of Henry V and Richard III. The contributors are Guy Henry, Kelly Hunter, Jo Stone-Fewings, David Rintoul, Samuel West, David Troughton, Nancy Carroll, Desmond Barrit, Adrian Lester, Fiona Bell, Richard Cordery, and Henry Goodman.

• The first volume in the series to focus on a single group of plays, i.e. the history plays • Provides a glimpse into the working methods of actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre • Illustrated with excellent photographs of productions

Preface; Introduction Robert Smallwood; King John Guy Henry; Constance in King John Kelly Hunter; The Bastard in King John Jo Stone-Fewings; King Edward the Third David Rintoul; King Richard the Second Samuel West; Bolingbroke in Richard the Second and King Henry the Fourth David Troughton; Lady Percy in Parts 1 and 2 of Henry the Fourth Nancy Carroll; Falstaff in Parts 1 and 2 of Henry the Fourth Desmond Barrit; King Henry the Fifth Adrian Lester; Joan of Arc in Part 1 of Henry the Sixth and Margaret of Anjou in Parts 1, 2, and 3 of Henry the Sixth and in Richard the Third Fiona Bell; Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in Parts 1 and 2 of Henry the Sixth and Buckingham in Richard the Third Richard Cordery; King Richard the Third Henry Goodman.

\'… rich and searching volume …\' The Times Literary Supplement

\'The best efforts in this series are first rate.\' Contemporary Review