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TOWARDSAEUROPEANHISTORYOF
HENRYV
13
ThereisnoneedtoarguethattheperformancehistoryofHenryVismanytimes
broaderthanbothSmithandSmallwoodseemtobewillingtoacknowledge.Thereare
multipleexamplesoftheplaybeingperformedbeyondtheEnglish-speakingarea,and
innationsotherthanGermanyorFrance.TheplaywasperformedinSpainandItalyon
theeveoftheSecondWorldWar,withabasiccastoftheOldVic,itistrue,butalso
withalocalsupportingcast.
13AsTinaKrontirisinformsus,theplaywasagainputon
inGreece,in1941,andonthisoccasionitwasnottheOldVic.Itwasanindependent
Greekshowofsupporttothecountry’sally,England.
14AlsobetweenWorldWarII
andthepresentday,therehavebeenatleastthreeproductionsoftheplayinBelgium.
Andfinally,thoseattendingthe2001SHINEconferenceinBaslewouldremember
aproductionoftheplaybyBalzEngler’sstudents,withHenryVdescendingfrom
acombathelicopterforthecourtshipscenewithprincessKatherine.
Thereis,then,noneedtoarguethattheperformancehistoryofHenryVisbroader
thanisassumedinsomequarters.Paradoxically,though,itdoesseemwortharguing
thatifwewishtoappreciatetheculturalandpoliticalimpactofShakespeare’s
HenryV,wemaybeundulylimitingourselvesifweconcentrateonstageproductions
alone.Letmethereforeconcludemyintroductionbysayingthatinordertoillustrate
myargumentIshallcastmynetwiderthanthelaudableShakespeareinProduction
series,andlookattheplay’s“performance”inthebroadestculturalterms.Afterall,
politicalcultureandhistoricaldramalikeShakespeare’sHenryVaresocloselyinter-
woven,thatouradherencetothetraditionallynarrowacademiccategoriesislikelyto
makeusoverlookmorethanisgoodforus.Successfulpoliticianstendtobeperceived
asthereincarnationofthecharacterofHenryV.ThishasoccurredinBritain(where
TonyBlairhasbeensatirizedasthevictorofAzincourt),aswellasfurtherafield
whereGeorgeW.BushhasbeendepictedastheShakespeareanwarriorking.
15And
beyondthenotionofcharacterliesthefive-actstructureasametaphorormodelfor
interpretingpoliticalevents,a.k.a.historyinthemaking.Thisbecameapparent,for
example,atthehistoricre-electionoftheAmericanpresidentinJanuary2005,whenLe
Figarocarriedthenewswiththewords:“GeorgeW.Bush,acteII”(20January2005).
USHenries
ItishardlyasecretthattherecentreceptionofHenryVintheUShascentredaround
thepersonofGeorgeW.Bush,andhiswarsinAfghanistanandinIraq.Theissuehas
beenwell-researchedbyscholarsinthefield,andthebestsourceofinformationstillis
ScottNewstrom’sinternetarticledevotedtothesubject.Withhisproblematicdrug-
13M.Tempera,“Rent-a-Past:ItalianResponsestoShakespeare’sHistories,”inShakespeare’sHistory
Plays,T.Hoenselaars(ed.),withaForewordbyD.Kennedy,CambridgeUniversityPress,2004,115–132.
14PrivatecorrespondencewithTinaKrontirisaboutherforthcomingmonographdevotedtowartime
ShakespeareinGreece(1940–1950).
15
SeeS.Newstrom,“Stepaside,I’llshowtheeapresident:GeorgeWasHenryV?”at
http://www.poppolitics.com/articles/2003_05_01_henryv.shtml(visited31August2006).