‘Second Form pupils have been getting to grips with Shakespeare and his plays. From his emotional romances to his dramatic tragedies, his works are often best understood through performance. So, on Monday 16 March, Second Form travelled to his birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon, to watch the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Henry V as part of our ‘Introduction to Shakespeare’ unit.
The play opened with Henry himself encouraging us to use our ‘imaginary forces’ to turn the stage into a kingdom and the actors into real royals. The RSC made this easy with a large cast, clever staging, and impressive lighting; even from our bird’s-eye view in the upper circle, we felt as though we were watching real history unfold. Henry V follows the young king as he unexpectedly takes the crown after his father’s death, leads England into battle against France, and tries to prove himself a strong and inspiring leader. The production highlighted the human cost of war – just as relevant today as it was in 1600 – through its many dramatic and emotional moments. We were glad to have studied the plot beforehand, as Shakespeare’s English, and the occasional French, was sometimes tricky to follow. Even so, we enjoyed the mix of languages, the creative set that transformed different places with very little, and several characters who added humour, especially one who first appeared drunk and had the whole audience laughing.
The trip was also a great chance to see a working theatre up close and even a huge Lego Shakespeare, making the whole experience memorable. Overall, it was an amazing evening, thank you to the English Department for making this trip possible.’
Maya (Second Form, Queen Anne) and Emilia (Second Form, Gascoigne)
