Shakespeare's Henry VI "House of Lancaster" (part 2 of 15)

The English Shakespeare Company adapted the three Henry VI plays to Henry VI "House of Lancaster", and Henry VI "House of York".

"The Wars of the Roses" (English Shakespeare Company, UK, 1990) is a direct filming, from the stage, of Michael Bogdanov and Michael Pennington's 7-play sequence based on Shakespeare's history plays.

Michael Pennington as Earl of Suffolk and Jack Cade
Michael Cronin as Warwick
Paul Brennen as Henry VI
Barry Stanton as Richard of York
Andrew Jarvis as Richard Duke of Gloucester, Richard III
Francesca Ryan as Joan La Pucelle
June Watson as Margaret

All performances were recorded at the Swansea Theatre.


from blurb on videotape:

Shakespeare's history cycle recounts the story of two great dynasties, the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York, who contested their rights to the crown across nearly two centuries of murder, intrigue, rebellion, counter-rebellion, and bloody battle culmination at last in the Battle of Bosworth and the accession of Henry Tudor to the throne.

The great battles of Agincourt, Tewkesbury, and Bosworth; the poetry of love, the treachery of power politics, and the unease of crownèd heads--in short, Shakespeare's history plays--are here presented by the English Shakespeare Company in performances hailed for bringing to life the history as well as the plays.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Shakespeare
• King-Henry-VI
• Michael-Pennington
• Francesca-Ryan
• play
• theatre
• English-history
• HenryVI

[deandusk]

great winchester!

[sarahreded]

York….Big Man with beard

Suffolk…..skinny sleazy man, flirts with queen

Beaufort….Cardinal Bishop of Winchester) skinny bishop in red

Henry….Kirk Norcross

Summerset…..man smoking with deep voice

[sarahreded]

I cant figure out who is playing Henry VI?? Infact I cant figure out who is who!!!??

[CactusHazretleri]

Thanks for putting this up! Youtube is greatly increasing my knowledge of Shakespeare, and I'm loving it.

[GreatGrumbledook]

"Jeanne was on a ladder, her standard in her hand, when her Standard was struck and she herself was hit on the head by a stone which was partly spent, and which struck her calotte. She was thrown to the ground; but, raising herself, she cried: "Friends! friends! come on! come on! Our Lord has doomed the English! They are ours! keep a good heart." At that moment the town was carried; and the English retired to the bridges, where the French pursued them and killed more than 1,100 men."

[GreatGrumbledook]

The actor playing the duke of York is badly chosen: First he is supposed to be young at this time and he lacks the royal charisma, which Shakespeare does so often give him; I cannot help, but the actress playing warlike Jeanne gives a superb performance; in fact she is one of the few women I have seen playing Jeanne, who seemed actually creditable in doing so; her voice is commanding and yet she remains a charming young woman; to illustrate this I will quote from the trial files: