Plot Summary
Soon after his accession to the throne King Henry V is considering asserting his right to rule France as well as England. Consulting the Archbishop of Canterbury as to the justness of his claim, he receives a gift of tennis balls sent by the dauphin – a scornful jibe at his youth, which spurs him on to the invasion of France. The king's former companions from his days in the Eastcheap tavern hear of the death of Sir John Falstaff from Hostess Quickly. They take their leave of her and set out to join Henry's army. Despite the dauphin's insistence that Henry is an unworthy opponent, the French king receives the English ambassadors but finally rejects Henry's claim to the crown. Henry's forces besiege and then take the town of Harfleur. While her father rouses his nobles to retaliation, Princess Katherine begins to learn English with the help of her companion Alice. Following the victory at Harfleur, the English forces begin a retreat through Normandy on account of the poor condition of the men, who are disheartened by sickness and foul weather. Even so, Henry rejects the French Herald's offer of ransom and the two armies prepare to fight. On the eve of the battle of Agincourt, Henry tours the camp in disguise and, sounding out the opinions of his men, is led to consider the heavy responsibilities of kingship. In the French camp, by contrast, confidence is high. As battle is joined, Henry rallies his troops and places them all in God's hands. An English victory is confirmed, with miraculously small losses. As part of the subsequent treaty, Henry woos and wins Katherine to ensure the linking of the two countries through marriage.
RSC Staging History 1960-2007
1964 RST/1965 Aldwych/1966 RST: Peter Hall, John Barton, Trevor Nunn
John Bury, Ann Curtis (design); John Bradley (lighting); Guy Woolfenden (music) Ian Holm (Henry), Eric Porter/Ian Richardson (Chorus), Clive Swift/David Waller (Fluellen), Paul Hardwick/Richard Moore (Pistol), Katharine Barker/Michele Dotrice/Sarah Hyde (Katherine), Donald Burton/Michael Jayston (Exeter), John Normington/Tim Wylton (Bardolph), David Waller/Godfrey Quigley (Williams), Charles Kay/John Nettleton/Tony Church (Archbishop of Canterbury), Charles Kay/John Nettleton/Patrick Stewart (The Dauphin), Patience Collier/Elizabeth Spriggs (Mistress Quickly), Davyd Harries (Gower), David Lyn (Cambridge), Donald Layne-Smith (Ely), Jeffery Dench/Ian Hogg/Ian McDonald (Jamy), Nicholas Selby/Jeffery Dench (Charles VI), Malcolm McDowell (Clarence), John Bell (Gloucester), Donald Burton (Constable of France), Clifford Rose/Terrence Hardiman (Montjoy), Phillip Hinton (MacMorris), Peter Geddis/Ken Wynne (Nym), Daniel Moynihan (Orleans), John Corvin (Bates), Patience Collier/Frances de la Tour (Alice), Madoline Thomas (Isabel), Alan Howard (Burgundy), John Kane (Francis)
1971 Theatregoround/1971 RST/1972 International Tour: John Barton
Ann Curtis (design); Brian Harris (lighting); Guy Woolfenden (music) Michael Williams (Henry), David Calder (Chorus), Bernard Lloyd (Fluellen/Cambridge), Morgan Sheppard (Pistol), Polly James (Katherine/Boy), Richard Mayes (Exeter/Montjoy/Burgundy), Don Henderson (Bardolph/Williams), Robert Ashby (Westmorland), Gordon Gostelow (Archbishop of Canterbury/Gower), Denis Holmes (Ely/Jamy/Constable of France), Peter Woodthorpe (The Dauphin/MacMorris), Michael Shannon (Nym/Orleans/Bates), Anne Dyson (Mistress Quickly/Queen Isabel), Marion Lines (Alice)
1975 RST/1976 Aldwych/1976 International Tour/1977 RST/1978 Aldwych: Terry Hands
Farrah (design); Stewart Leviton, John Bradley, Terry Hands (lighting); Guy Woolfenden (music) Alan Howard (Henry), Emrys James/Alfred Lynch (Chorus), Trevor Peacock (Fluellen/Ely), Richard Moore/Jeffery Dench (Pistol), Ludmila Mikaël/Carolle Rousseau/Barbara Kellerman (Katherine), Philip Brack/Edwin Richfield (Exeter), Tim Wylton (Bardolph/Monsieur le Fer), Dan Meaden (Williams/Scroop), Reginald Jessup (Sir Thomas Erpingham/Westmorland), Derek Smith/Jeffery Dench/Paul Imbusch (Archbishop of Canterbury/Gower), Clement McCallin/Roy Purcell (Charles VI), Geoffrey Hutchings/Stephen Jenn (The Dauphin), Philip Dunbar (Nym/Orleans), Maureen Pryor/Brenda Bruce/Valerie Lush (Mistress Quickly), Yvonne Coulette (Alice), Ken Stott (Jamy), Arthur Whybrow (Sir Thomas Grey/Bates), Richard Derrington (Court), Barrie Rutter (Earl of Cambridge/MacMorris), Anthony Naylor (Clarence), Stephen Jenn (Gloucester), Bernard Brown (Constable of France), Oliver Ford-Davies (Montjoy), Peter Bourke (Boy)
1984 RST/1985 Barbican: Adrian Noble
Bob Crowley (design); Robert Bryan (lighting); Howard Blake (music) Kenneth Branagh (Henry), Ian McDiarmid (Chorus), Sion Probert (Fluellen), Bernard Horsfall (Pistol), Cecile Paoli (Katherine), Brian Blessed/Pete Postlethwaite (Exeter), John Rogan (Bardolph), Malcolm Storry (Williams), Norman Henry (Sir Thomas Erpingham/Governor of Harfleur), Harold Innocent/John Carlisle (Archbishop of Canterbury/Burgundy), Sebastian Shaw (Charles VI/Ely), Nicholas Woodeson (The Dauphin), Adam Bareham/Martin Jacobs (Gower), Paul Gregory (Westmorland), Derek Crewe (Nym), Patricia Routledge (Mistress Quickly), Yvonne Coulette (Alice), Peter Theedom (Jamy/Bates), Andrew Jarvis (Court/Earl of Cambridge), Arthur Kohn/Geoffrey Freshwater (MacMorris/Sir Thomas Grey), Stephen Simms (Scroop), David Phelan (Clarence), Jonathan Scott-Taylor (Gloucester), Ian Mackenzie (Orleans), Richard Easton (Constable of France), Peter Miles/Henry Goodman (Monsieur le Fer), Christopher Ravenscroft (Montjoy), Sarah Woodward (Soldier), Dexter Fletcher/Sarah Woodward (Boy)
1994 RST/1995 Barbican: Mathew Warchus
Neil Warmington (set), Kandis Cook (costumes); Charles Edwards (lighting); Mark Vibrans (music) Iain Glen (Henry), Tony Britton (Chorus), Linal Haft (Fluellen/French Ambassador), Clive Wood (Pistol), Monica Dolan (Katherine), David Beames (Exeter), David Hounslow (Bardolph/Williams), Liam O'Callaghan (Sir Thomas Erpingham/Charles VI), Ewan Hooper (Burgundy/Archbishop of Canterbury), Gwynn Beech (The Dauphin/Westmorland), Steven Elliott (Gower/Earl of Cambridge), Nigel Cooke (Nym), Joanna McCallum (Mistress Quickly/Alice), Janice McKenzie (Queen Isabel/Governor of Harfleur), Adrian Irvine (Court/Orleans), Sean O'Callaghan (MacMorris/Clarence/Monsieur le Fer), Anthony Naylor (Sir Thomas Grey/Constable of France), Colin Jarrett (Scroop/Gloucester), Quill Roberts (Bates), Daniel Evans (Boy)
1997 RST/UK Tour/Barbican: Ron Daniels
Ashley Martin-Davis (design); Peter Mumford (lighting); Colin Towns (music) Michael Sheen (Henry), Norman Rodway (Chorus/Sir Thomas Erpingham/Governor of Harfleur/Burgundy), Alan David (Fluellen/Ely), Camphell Morrison (Pistol), Karine Adrover (Katherine), Nicholas Day (Exeter), Alan Perrin (Bardolph), Roger Morlidge (MacMorris/Williams/Sir Thomas Grey), Geoffrey Whitehead (Charles VI), Tristan Gemmill (The Dauphin), Stephen Bent (Gower/Westmorland), Stephen Casey (Nym), Dona Croll (Mistress Quickly/Alice), John Macaulay (Jamy/Court), Peter Lindford (Scroop), Alan Gilchrist (Bates/Earl of Cambridge), Jon Fenner (Clarence), Steven Atholl (Gloucester), Nicholas Boulton (Orleans), Benny Young (Constable of France), Stephen Casey (Monsieur le Fer)
2000 RST/2001 Barbican: Edward Hall ('This England: the Histories')
Michael Pavelka (design); Ben Ormerod (lighting); Billy Bragg (songs), Simon Slater (music) William Houston (Henry), Sam Cox (Sir Thomas Erpingham/Burgundy), Adrian Schiller (Fluellen), Richard Bremmer (Pistol), Catherine Walker (Katherine), Michael Thomas (Exeter), Arthur Cox (Bardolph), Keith Dunphy (MacMorris/Scroop), Joshua Richards (Williams/Earl of Cambridge), Gavin Abbott (Sir Thomas Grey/Gower/Court), David Acton (Charles VI), Alexis Daniel (The Dauphin), David Lyon (Westmorland), Joe Renton (Nym), Sandra Voe (Mistress Quickly), Vincent Brimble (Governor of Harfleur/Ely), Ann Firbank (Alice), Kenneth Bryans (Jamy/Bates), Christian Mahrle (Gloucester/Monsieur le Fer), Russell Layton (Montjoy), William Buckhurst (Orleans), Nicholas Kahn (Constable of France), James O'Donnell (Boy), Claire Adamson (Messenger)
For a gallery of over 100 production images from a selection of these productions (and some older ones in the pre-RSC Shakespeare Memorial Theatre), together with sample costumes, pages from promptbooks and other visual materials, go to