‘The king has serious mental health issues’
Director Owen Horsley is giving two of Shakespeare’s History plays a filmic look for modern audiences
Tell us about the two plays you’re directing for the RSC
Henry VI Parts 2 and 3 are two rarely performed History plays that depict the events that lead to the Wars of the Roses, which is one of the bloodiest periods of British history. It is an epic story about feuding families, politics, legacy, power, ego and barbarism. In this version I have edited the plays in such a way that all the battles (five in total) take place in the second part, which we are calling Wars of the Roses, and the events that lead us to the battlefield are depicted in the first part, which we have entitled Rebellion.
You say you’ve edited the plays. Tell us more about that process.
For me I love to do dramaturgical work on Shakespeare’s plays in order to make it live for a modern audience, but I do this with a deep respect for the language. With these History plays I have edited the original text to create something that feels more filmic, so although I have not changed any of the language it will feel more immediate and urgent for the audience. I did this because I feel a modern audience often responds well to a speed of storytelling due to their engagement with TV and film.
Can you tell me a little bit more about how the shows will look? Are you setting them in any particular period?
With designer Stephen Brimson Lewis and costume designer Hannah Clark we decided to set these plays in the Medieval period in which the story takes place. These plays have strikingly modern themes of politics, power and ambition, and I believe audiences will see this without updating the period to modern day. I would even argue that they become clearer with this distance.
Shakespeare wrote these plays when he was around 27 and they have a roughness to them so we also wanted to reflect this on stage. There is a simplicity to the staging elements so we can capture the urgency and dynamics of the power politics that play out in front of the audience.
From the outset I also wanted to explore the use of camera work. There is something extremely intimate about using projections and cameras, and I wanted those watching the plays to feel closer to the characters, to go deeper into the humanity behind the history. In one instance we project a close up of Henry as he prepares ‘back stage’ before playing a scene in front of his court. We’ll also use live camera work in the story to take everyone deeper into the battles. This juxtaposition of period costumes and camera work is very intriguing to me and I’m very excited to present it to an audience.
Unlike many of Shakespeare’s other plays, his Henry VI plays concern themselves with real historic events and figures. How does this affect you as a director?
There are two versions of history for me – real history and Shakespeare’s history. In these plays Shakespeare plays fast and loose with real history so, although as a history geek I love to read about the actual history, it is always important for me to follow Shakespeare’s interpretation. Shakespeare is interested in creating drama and highlighting the human struggles within the history so that is where my attention must go as well. As a writer he creates such fascinating situations that reveal the humanity behind these incredible moments of history.
You banned the word ‘weak’ from the rehearsal room when describing the character of Henry VI. Why was that?
Throughout history Henry VI has been called ‘the weak King’ and I find that very reductive when trying to present a clearly complex man who lived at a time of extreme division and violence. I believe Henry is a talented diplomat who consistently tries to use ‘words and not blows’ to convince people – often rather convincingly – to cease striving for power and revenge. However, he is surrounded by much stronger personalities and is over spoken, excluded and denied his voice.
I also think that Henry has empathy overload and as the play gets more violent it becomes harder for him to act due to the sheer exhaustion and trauma of feeling the pain of a country at war. He takes the pain into his own body and it renders him useless. Henry is also a man with a deep sense of faith – something that we are often very cynical about – and during this play
he goes through a spiritual journey in which his belief is questioned. In 2022 we live in a time that has a much deeper understanding of mental health, and when I see Henry I see a man who has serious mental health issues. In fact, the more I work on the plays I see the whole thing as a fascinating study of male mental health as each character is fighting against the expectations of masculinity. Expectations that are not a million miles away from what we face today.
Henry VI: Rebellion runs from April 1 to May 28, and Wars of the Roses runs from April 11 to June 4. Both productions play in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratfordupon-Avon. Visit rsc.org.uk or call 01789 331111
This juxtaposition of period costumes and camera work is very intriguing
Owen Horsley