Shakespeare's Henry IV, II (1979 TV) Lady Percy's big speech

and a bit of Sir John Falstaff joisting with Doll Tearsheet and Mistress Quickly from the next scene.

Act II, scene 3 in it's entirety, and then scene 4, line 21 (Doll Tearsheet and Mistress Quickly entrance) to line 142 (Arden edition)


Bruce Purchase ... Earl of Northumberland
Jenny Laird ... Lady Northumberland
Michele Dotrice ... Lady Percy, Hotspur's Widow
Anthony Quayle ... Sir John Falstaff
Brenda Bruce ... Mistress Quickly
Frances Cuka ... Doll Tearsheet
Bryan Pringle ... Pistol

Lady Percy's speech is filmed in a way to emphasize her running off a bit on a tangent about her late husband (and Northumberland's son), Hotspur, in this famous speech, but they bring it back nicely to the point (as does the speech) "Let them alone./The Marshal and the Archbishop are strong". Michele Dotrice gets just right the hard monosylable lines (O yet, for God's sake, go not th these wars!...Never, O never do his ghost the wrong...etc) and the significant pauses, like "O Wonderous him!/O miracle of men!" almost too well, also puts some fine quavering emotion to further emphasize the line after the pause in "Did seem defensable. So you left him."

Lady Percy gets rather pointed in her criticism of Northumberland's failure to fulfill his earlier promise to bring his troops up in time to help his son,and this speech can get a bit shrewish and grating, but the actors here nicely keep it on an even keel, underlining Lady Percy's laments but also respect toward her father-in-law, and Bruce Purchase's response is just right.


William Shakespeare's "The second Part of King Henry the Fourth"

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Falstaff
• Quayle
• Shakespeare
• 2H4
• Michele-Dotrice

[hunterkillertank]

Betty... I wet My Trousers

[Liebestod]

thanks for uploading!