Henry V

There can be no better day to see Henry V than St Crispin’s Day, the date of which is central to the action of Shakespeare’s play. Blak Yak celebrated the occasion with free crisps for their patrons, and there was a sense of celebration in watching the St Crispin’s Day speech on the 603rd anniversary of its inspiration.

Played almost in the round, the actors “waiting their turn” make up the fourth side of the seating arrangement. Minimal but well chosen costume pieces denote character (with many actors playing multiple roles). This is bare-bones Shakespeare, with emphasis on acting, story and word. It is also somewhat of a marathon after a long work day, playing its full length, with nary a line cut. This is a production that knows the text, but has fun with it, with audience participation and an awareness of humour. Alex Coutts-Smith’s lighting provides all of the necessary scenery.

The show opens with Sherryl Spencer as Chorus, asking us to use our imagination to fill in the gaps of the presentation, a gorgeous choice of actor, as the audience warm to her immediately and her beautiful handling of the language allow us to ease into the show. Sherryl also played Montjoy and her transformation between the characters is artistry. She was very ill on the evening (as were most of this cast - which has succumbed to a shared bug) but her performance remained superb.

Declan Waters, a young actor with a promising future, leads the cast with power in the title role. Standouts among his supporters include James Hagan’s Fluellen. It is not surprising that one of Perth’s foremost accent coaches handles the Welsh accent with ease, but this character has great depth and nuance. Bonnie Rae Bruce handles the complex exposition of the overly wordy Canterbury with ease and Patrick Downes as Exeter is very convincing. Stacey Broomhead’s appearances as Boy are impressive.

Some particularly memorable performances among the French Court include the outstanding French language and delightful Frenglish of Jess Lally as Princess Katherine (who also is a wonderful French Soldier) and Fiona Forster’s wry and solid Alice. Mark Thompson is a believable Dauphin, Ben Small gives layers to the Constable of France and the court is led well by Ann Speicher.

More knockabout humour is supplied by a versatile Alan Gill as Nym, Andre Victor as friend turned rival Pistol (lovely casting), Fiona Johnson as Bardolph (a lovely contrast to her later Queen Isabel) and Vee McGuire as Mistress Quickly.

Completing the ensemble are Sarah Thillagaratnam, Solanje Burns and William Everett-Knight, all performing well. Stage Manager Ellie Vance makes frequent cameos in a busy show for an SM.

A great choice for the Shakespeare obsessed or those wishing to dip a toe. A thoughtful, well-directed and passionate production.

 Kimberley Shaw