Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Well hello there. Sorry that it has been an age since I wrote here… been a very busy term at Uni and wanted to chill over the Christmas break.

However I’m here now, ready to dazzle you with my wit and writing talent (ha, yeah…).

SO, I went to see Jude Law in Henry V at the beginning of December (one of the last nights of previews), as a treat to myself for my birthday – well… can you blame me?

I was a little anxious to see him playing Henry V as I had never seen Jude play a Shakespearean role before as I missed him when he starred in Hamlet.  Henry V is also one of my favourite Shakespearean plays.

However, I needn’t have feared, as Jude played King Harry very well.  It was performed at the Noel Coward theatre in Covent Garden, and the set, although seemingly simple, actually handled the scenes very well.  It consisted of very high fence-like back dropping which turned the stage into a semi-circle that faced the audience with a very high rake on the stage.  The fencing then had various panels within it that opened during the fighting scenes, and the centre of the fencing at the back opened during scenes such as the night time scene were Harry moves through the ranks at night (with a wonderful starry night scene as the backdrop and sunken fires to represent individual camp fires).

Anyway, enough about the set. Jude conveyed a confident, yet older Harry who showed determination, strength and courage during the rallying of the troops scenes.  He also delivered the most famous lines with great dexterity and timing.

Overall, I’d say the scene in which Jude performed to the best of his abilities would have been the wooing scene with Princess Katharine (the French princess).  As well as being one of the funniest scenes of the play, Jude’s natural charm and charisma really came to the fore here and it suited him very well.  I think most of the critics agreed with this when writing the show reviews.

All I can say is, if there are any tickets left, SNAP THEM UP and enjoy!