Adaptations Henry VI, Part 2

1 adaptations

1.1 theatrical
1.2 television
1.3 radio
1.4 manga

adaptations
theatrical

evidence first adaptation of 2 henry vi found during restoration, when, in 1681, john crowne created two-part play entitled henry sixth, first part , misery of civil war. henry comprised acts 1–3 of 2 henry vi focusing on death of gloucester, misery adapted last 2 acts of 2 henry vi , of 3 henry vi. writing @ time of popish plot, crowne, devout royalist, used adaptation warn danger of allowing england descend civil war, case should whig party rise power. such, scenes of jack cade s rebellion, depicted in misery, more violent in shakespeare, painted backdrops of people on fire , children impaled on pikes. crowne rewrote roles of gloucester , winchester make gloucester more saint-like , taintless, , winchester more villainous. linked murder of gloucester recent assassination of edmund berry godfrey, incident had led outbreak of anti-catholic hysteria in london in 1678. creating link, crowne aiming enhance anti-catholic sentiment more , ensure passing of exclusion bill, prevent catholic james stuart, duke of york succeeding brother, protestant charles ii. end, crowne rewrote murder scene give more characterisation 3 murderers, depicted devout, cold-blooded catholics.

two more adaptations followed in 1723. first humfrey duke of gloucester ambrose philips, used thirty lines acts 1–3 of 2 henry vi , performed @ drury lane. in possible comment on politics of crowne s adaptation, phillips dedicated version william pulteney, 1st earl of bath, leading whig politician. second 1723 adaptation, performed @ drury lane, theophilus cibber s king henry vi: tragedy, used act 5 of 2 henry vi , acts 1 , 2 of 3 henry vi, , featured father colley cibber winchester.

in 1817, edmund kean appeared in j.h. merivale s richard duke of york; or contention of york , lancaster, used material 3 henry vi plays, removed not directly related york. material 2 henry vi included lamentation loss of anjou , maine, conflict between gloucester , winchester, murder of gloucester, death of winchester (where warwick s dialogue reassigned york), , cade s rebellion.

following merivale s example, robert atkins adapted 3 plays single piece performance @ old vic in 1923 part of celebrations tercentenary of first folio. guy martineau played henry , esther whitehouse played margaret. atkins himself played york.

the success of 1951–1953 douglas seale stand-alone productions of each of individual plays in birmingham prompted him present 3 plays @ old vic in 1957 under general title wars of roses. barry jackson adapted text, altering trilogy two-part play; 1 henry vi , 2 henry vi combined (with of 1 henry vi eliminated) , 3 henry vi edited down. seale again directed, paul daneman again appearing henry , alfred burke gloucester, alongside barbara jefford margaret , derek godfrey york.

the production credited establishing reputation of play in modern theatre john barton , peter hall s 1963/1964 rsc production of tetralogy, adapted three-part series, under general title wars of roses, @ royal shakespeare theatre. first play (entitled henry vi) featured shortened version of 1 henry vi , half of 2 henry vi (up death of beaufort). second play (entitled edward iv) featured second half of 2 henry vi , shortened version of 3 henry vi, followed shortened version of richard iii third play. in all, 1,450 lines written barton added 6,000 lines of original shakespearean material, total of 12,350 lines removed. production starred david warner henry, peggy ashcroft margaret, donald sinden york , paul hardwick gloucester. barton , hall both concerned plays reflect contemporary political environment, civil chaos , breakdown of society depicted in plays mirrored in contemporary milieu, events such building of berlin wall in 1961, cuban missile crisis in 1962 , assassination of john f. kennedy in 1963. directors allowed these events reflect in production, arguing live among war, race riots, revolutions, assassinations, , imminent threat of extinction. theatre is, therefore, examining fundamentals in staging henry vi plays. influenced politically focused literary theory of time; both had attended 1956 london visit of bertolt brecht s berliner ensemble, both subscribers antonin artaud s theory of theatre of cruelty , , hall had read english translation of jan kott s influential shakespeare our contemporary in 1964 prior publication in britain. both barton , hall supporters of e.m.w. tillyard s 1944 book shakespeare s history plays, still hugely influential text in shakespearian scholarship, in terms of argument shakespeare in tetraology advancing tudor myth.

another major adaptation staged in 1987 english shakespeare company, under direction of michael bogdanov. touring production opened @ old vic, , subsequently toured 2 years, performing at, amongst other places, panasonic globe theatre in tokyo, japan (as inaugural play of arena), festival dei due mondi in spoleto, italy , @ adelaide festival in adelaide, australia. following structure established barton , hall, bogdanov combined heavily edited 1 henry vi , first half of 2 henry vi 1 play (henry vi), , second half of 2 henry vi , 3 henry vi (edward iv), , followed them edited richard iii. barton , hall, bogdanov concentrated on political issues, although made them far more overt had predecessors. example, played june watson, margaret closely modelled after british prime minister @ time, margaret thatcher, point of having similar clothes , hair. likewise, paul brennan s henry closely modelled after king edward viii, before abdication. jack cade, played michael pennington presented punk spiked hair , wearing shirt depicting union jack white rose in middle, , during cade rebellion, football hooligan chants heard. indeed, cade rebellion in general modelled on national front. bogdanov employed frequent anachronisms , contemporary visual registers, in effort show relevance of politics contemporary period. production noted pessimism regards contemporary british politics, critics feeling political resonances heavy handed. however, series huge box office success. alongside watson , brennen, play starred barry stanton york , colin farrell gloucester.

another adaptation of tetralogy royal shakespeare company followed in 1988, performed @ barbican. adapted charles wood , directed adrian noble, barton/hall structure again followed, reducing trilogy 2 plays dividing 2 henry vi in middle. resulting trilogy entitled plantagenets, individual plays entitled henry vi, rise of edward iv , richard iii, death. starring ralph fiennes henry, penny downie margaret, anton lesser york , david waller gloucester, production extremely successful both audiences , critics.

michael bogdanov , english shakespeare company presented different adaptation @ swansea grand theatre in 1991, using same cast on touring production. 8 plays history cycle presented on 7 night period, each play receiving 1 performance only, , twenty 8 actors portraying 5 hundred roles. whilst other 5 plays in cycle unadapted, henry vi plays combined two, using barton/hall structure, first named house of lancaster , second, house of york.

in 2000, edward hall presented trilogy two-part series @ watermill theatre in newbury. hall followed jackson/seale structure, combining 1 henry vi , 2 henry vi 1 play eliminated 1 henry vi , following edited version of 3 henry vi. production noted how handled violence of play. set designed abattoir, rather attempt present violence realistically (as productions do), hall went in other direction; presenting violence symbolically. whenever character decapitated or killed, red cabbage sliced whilst actor mimed death beside it.

in 2001, tom markus directed adaptation of tetralogy @ colorado shakespeare festival. condensing fours plays one, markus named play queen margaret, doing same character of margaret merivale had done york. margaret played gloria biegler, henry richard haratine, york lars tatom , gloucester charles wilcox.

poster 2001 shakespeare s rugby wars

another unusual 2001 adaptation of tetralogy entitled shakespeare s rugby wars. written matt toner , chris coculuzzi, , directed coculuzzi, play acted upstart crow theatre group , staged outdoors @ robert street playing field part of toronto fringe festival. presented if live rugby match between york , lancaster, play featured commentary falstaff (stephen flett), broadcast live audience. match refereed bill shakespeare (played coculuzzi), , actors (whose characters names appeared on jerseys) had microphones attached , recite dialogue 4 plays @ key moments.

in 2002, leon rubin presented tetralogy trilogy @ stratford shakespeare festival in ontario. using barton/hall method of combining 1 henry vi first half of 2 henry vi, , second half of 2 henry vi 3 henry vi, plays renamed henry vi: revenge in france , henry vi: revolt in england. michael thierry played henry, seana mckenna played margaret, thom marriott played york , david francis played gloucester.

also in 2002, edward hall , propeller company presented one-play all-male cast modern dress adaptation of trilogy @ watermill theatre. under title rose rage, hall used cast of thirteen actors portray 1 hundred , fifty speaking roles in four-hour production, necessitating doubling , tripling of parts. although new adaptation, production followed jackson/seale method of eliminating of 1 henry vi. original cast included jonathan mcguinness henry, robert hands margaret, guy williams york , richard clothier gloucester. after successful run @ watermill, play moved chicago shakespeare theater. american cast included carman lacivita henry, scott parkinson margaret, bruce a. young york , sean fortunato gloucester.

outside england, major european adaptation of tetralogy took place in 1864 in weimar under direction of franz von dingelstedt, who, 7 years had staged play unedited. dingelstedt turned trilogy two-parter under general name die weisse rose. first play called haus lancaster, second haus york. adaptation unique insofar both plays created combining material 3 henry vi plays. following structure, alfred von walzogen produced two-part play in 1875, under general title edward iv. european adaptation in 1965 @ piccolo teatro in milan. directed giorgio strehler went under title il gioco del potenti (the play of mighty). using barton , hall s structure, strehler added several characters, including chorus, used monologues richard ii, both parts of henry iv, henry v, macbeth , timon of athens, , 2 gravediggers called bevis , holland (after names of 2 of cade s rebels in folio text), commented (with dialogue written strehler himself) on each of major characters set burying them. major german adaptation peter palitzsch s two-part adaptation of trilogy der krieg der rosen in 1967 @ stuttgart state theatre. condensing 3 plays two, heinrich vi , eduard iv, palitzsch s adaptation concluded opening monologue richard iii.

television

the first television adaptation of play in 1960 when bbc produced serial entitled age of kings. show comprised fifteen sixty- , seventy-five-minute episodes adapted 8 of shakespeare s sequential history plays. directed michael hayes , produced peter dews, script eric crozier, production featured terry scully henry, mary morris margaret, jack may york , john ringham gloucester. tenth episode, fall of protector covers acts 1, 2 , act 3, scene 1, ending york s soliloquy regarding fact has troops @ disposal , revelation of plans use jack cade instigate popular rebellion. eleventh episode, rabble kent , presents act 3, scene 2 onwards, beginning death of humphrey. each episode running 1 hour, great deal of text removed, aside truncation, minor alterations made original. example, in fall of protector , peter thump not kill thomas horner during combat; compels him confess sitting on him, , horner promptly arrested. in rabble kent , see murder of gloucester, whereas in text, happens off-stage. worth noting characters of both george plantagenet , edmund, earl of rutland introduced prior battle of st albans, whereas in text, neither character introduced until 3 henry vi (edmund in act 1, scene 3; george in act 2, scene 2). additionally, edmund played adult actor, whereas in text, child.

in 1965, bbc 1 broadcast 3 plays john barton , peter hall s wars of roses trilogy (henry vi, rise of edward iv , richard iii) david warner henry , peggy ashcroft margaret. directed television robin midgley , michael hayes, plays presented more filmed theatre, core idea being recreate theatre production in televisual terms - not merely observe it, heart of it. filming done on rsc stage, not during actual performances, allowing cameras close actors, , cameramen hand-held cameras shoot battle scenes. additionally, camera platforms created around theatre. in all, twelve cameras used, allowing final product edited more film piece of static filmed theatre. filming done following 1964 run of plays @ stratford-upon-avon, , took place on eight-week period, fifty-two bbc staff working alongside eighty-four rsc staff bring project fruition. in 1966, production repeated on bbc 1 re-edited eleven episodes of fifty minutes each. second episode, margaret of anjou , presented 1 henry vi act 4, scene 2 onwards, beginning talbot confronting french general @ harfleur (bordeaux in play), first half of act 1, scene 1 of 2 henry vi (concluding henry , margaret departing court). third episode, lord protector covered acts 1, 2 , act 3, scene 1 of 2 henry vi, ending york s soliloquy regarding fact has troops @ disposal , revelation of plans use jack cade instigate popular rebellion. fourth episode, council board , presented act 3, scene 2 act 4, scene 8, concluding jack cade s forces abandoning him. fifth episode, fearful king , presented rest of 2 henry vi (beginning henry pardoning cade s rebels) 3 henry vi act 1 , act 2, scene 1, concluding warwick rallying edward, richard , george after father s death.

another television version of play produced bbc in 1981 bbc television shakespeare series, although episode didn t air until 1983. directed jane howell, play presented second part of tetralogy (all 4 adaptations directed howell) linked casting; henry played peter benson, margaret julia foster, york bernard hill , gloucester david burke. howell s presentation of complete first historical tetralogy 1 of lauded achievements of entire bbc series, , prompted stanley wells argue productions purer version given in theatre since shakespeare s time. michael mannheim impressed, calling tetralogy fascinating, fast paced , surprisingly tight-knit study in political , national deterioration.

henry (peter benson) surveys destruction in wake of jack cade rebellion. note charred , rubbish strewn set, has darkened considerably since 1 henry vi, yellow, bright blue , red predominated

inspired notion political intrigues behind wars of roses seemed playground squabbles, howell , production designer oliver bayldon staged 4 plays in single set resembling children s adventure playground. however, little attempt made @ realism. example, bayldon did not disguise parquet flooring ( stops set literally representing [...] reminds in modern television studio ), , in 4 productions, title of play displayed within set (on banners in 1 henry vi , 2 henry vi (where visible throughout entire first scene), on shroud in 3 henry vi, , written on chalkboard richard himself in richard iii). many critics felt these set design choices lent production air of brechtian verfremdungseffekt. stanley wells wrote of set intended invite viewer accept play s artificiality of language , action, michael hattaway describes anti-illusionist, susan willis argues set allows productions reach theatrically toward modern world , ronald knowles writes major aspect of set subliminal suggestion of childlike anarchy, role-playing, rivalry, game , vandalism, if culture precariously balanced on shaky foundations of atavistic aggression , power-mad possession. 4 plays progressed, set decayed , became more , more dilapidated social order became more fractious. in same vein, costumes became more , more monotone plays went on - first part of henry sixt features brightly coloured costumes distinguish various combatants 1 another, tragedy of richard iii, fights in coloured dark costumes, little differentiate 1 army another. element of verfremdungseffekt in production use of doubling, particularly use of actors david burke , trevor peacock. burke plays both henry s closest advisor , loyal servant, gloucester, , after gloucester s death, plays jack cade s right-hand man, dick butcher. peacock plays cade himself, having appeared in first part of henry sixt lord talbot, representative of chivalry. both actors play complete inversions of previous characters, re-creating both authentically elizabethan theatrical practice , breachtian political commentary. graham holderness saw howell s non-naturalistic production of reaction bbc s adaptation of henriad in seasons 1 , two, had been directed david giles in traditional , straightforward manner favoured series producer cedric messina; messina saw history plays conventionally orthodox tudor historiography, , [david giles] employed dramatic techniques allow ideology free , unhampered passage spectator, jane howell takes more complex view of first tetralogy as, simultaneously, serious attempt @ historical interpretation, , drama peculiarly modern relevance , contemporary application. plays, director, not dramatisation of elizabethan world picture sustained interrogation of residual , emergent ideologies in changing society [...] awareness of multiplicity of potential meanings in play required decisive , scrupulous avoidance of television or theatrical naturalism: methods of production should operate open plays out, rather close them recognisable familiarity of conventional shakespearean production.

howell s second part of henry sixt based on folio text rather quarto; however, departed text in number of places. example, numerous lines cut every scene. of more notable omissions include; in act 1, scene 1, both of gloucester s references bedford absent (ll. 82–83, 95–96), reference suffolk s demands paid escorting margaret france (ll. 131–133), , york s allusion althaea , calydon in closing soliloquy (ll.231–235). absent in act 2, scene 1 gloucester s question winchester priesthood grown peremptory?tantaene animis caelestibus irae? (ll.23–24), lines 173–180, winchester taunts gloucester eleanor s arrest , gloucester calls off duel. york s outline of edward iii s 7 sons absent act 2, scene 2 (ll.10–17), salisbury s reference owen glendower (l.41). suffolk s accusation gloucester involved in necromancy eleanor omitted act 3, scene 1 (ll.47–53), gloucester s outline of how dealt criminals during time protector (ll.128–132). absent 3.1 comments winchester, suffolk , margaret after gloucester accuses them of conspiring bring him down (ll.172–185), , york s references how fought alongside cade in ireland (ll.360–370). in act 4, scene 1, references walter whitmore s name gualtier absent (ll.38–39). entirety of act 4, scene 5 (a brief scene showing scales , gough on patrol @ tower of london) absent. in act 5, scene 1, of dialogue between clifford , warwick absent (ll.200–210).

however, there additions text, noticeably lines contention, such in act 1, scene 1, 2 lines added salisbury s vow support york if can prove legitimate heir crown. between lines 197 , 198 added reverence of mine age , neville s name/is of no little force if command. in act 1, scene 3, 2 lines added conversation between margaret , thump between lines 31 , 32, thump mistakes word usurper usurer , corrected margaret. example found in act 2, scene 1, extended conversation between gloucester , winchester in gloucester says winchester born in bastardy included. other changes include transferral of lines characters other speak them in folio text. notable of these 1.3.211 gloucester s line law, , duke gloucester s doom given henry. additionally, in act 1, scene 4, during conjuration, there no separate spirit in scene; spirit s dialogue spoken through jourdayne, , lines folio omitted. also, later in scene, buckingham reads prophecies, not york. in act 4, scene 1, second half of line 139 ( pompey great, , suffolk dies pirates ) spoken lieutenant, not suffolk.

another notable stylistic technique soliloquies of york in act 1, scene 1 , act 3, scene 1, of eleanor , hum in act 1, scene 2, , york s asides in act 1, scene 1 , act 3, scene 1 delivered direct camera, dick butcher s comments in act 4, scene 2, cade delivers speech masses. worth noting character of george plantagenet introduced prior battle of st albans, whereas in text, not introduced until 3 henry vi, act 2, scene 2. additionally, buckingham killed onscreen whereas in play, fate unknown, revealed in opening lines of 3 henry vi have been killed edward.

in 1964, austrian channel orf 2 presented adaptation of trilogy leopold lindtberg under title heinrich vi. cast list production has been lost. in 1969, german channel zdf presented filmed version of first part of peter palitzsch s 1967 two-part adaptation of trilogy in stuttgart, heinrich vi: der krieg der rosen 1. second part, eduard iv: der krieg der rosen 2, screened in 1971.

radio

in 1923, extracts 3 henry vi plays broadcast on bbc radio, performed cardiff station repertory company third episode of series of programs showcasing shakespeare s plays, entitled shakespeare night. in 1947, bbc third programme aired one-hundred-and-fifty-minute adaptation of trilogy part of shakespeare s historical plays series, six-part adaptation of 8 sequential history plays, linked casting. adapted maurice roy ridley, king henry vi starred john bryon henry, gladys young margaret, richard williams york , baliol holloway gloucester. in 1952, third programme aired adaptation of tetralogy peter watts , john dover wilson under general name wars of roses. tetralogy adapted trilogy in unusual way. 1 henry vi removed, trilogy contained 2 henry vi, 3 henry vi , richard iii. reason explained dover wilson, argued 1 henry vi patchwork in shakespeare collaborated inferior dramatists. adaptation starred valentine dyall henry, sonia dresdel margaret, stephen jack york , gordon mcleod gloucester. in 1971, bbc radio 3 presented two-part adaptation of trilogy raymond raikes. part 1 contained abridged 1 henry vi , abridged version of first 3 acts of 2 henry vi. part 2 presented acts 4 , 5 , abridged 3 henry vi. nigel lambert played henry, barbara jefford played margaret , ian mckellen played both york , richard iii. in 1977, bbc radio 4 presented 26-part serialisation of 8 sequential history plays under general title vivat rex (long live king). adapted martin jenkins part of celebration of silver jubilee of elizabeth ii, 2 henry vi comprised episodes 17 ( witchcraft ) , 18 ( jack cade ). james laurenson played henry, peggy ashcroft played margaret, peter jeffrey played york , richard burton narrated.

in america, in 1936, heavily edited adaptation of trilogy broadcast part of nbc blue s radio guild series. comprising 3 sixty-minute episodes aired week apart, adaptation written vernon radcliffe , starred henry herbert henry, , janet nolan margaret. in 1954, cbc radio presented adaptation of trilogy andrew allen, combined 1 henry vi, 2 henry vi , 3 henry vi one-hundred-and-sixty-minute episode. there no known cast information production.

in 1985, german radio channel sender freies berlin broadcast heavily edited seventy-six-minute two-part adaptation of octology adapted rolf schneider, under title shakespeare s rosenkriege.

manga

aya kanno s japanese manga comic requiem of rose king loose adaptation of first shakespearean historical tetralogy, covering henry vi , richard iii.