Henry the 6th Part 1: Dramaturgy Hub

Introduction

Henry the Sixth, Part One (also variously known as 1 Henry VI, Henry VI Part 1, 1H6 and even, in arguably its earliest reference, Harey Vj), is amongst Shakespeare's earliest plays (though perhaps not written before its sequels), the first in a tetralogy chronologically followed by Henry the Sixth Part Two, Henry the Sixth Part Three, and Richard the Third. A volatile piece consumed with the Hundred Years' War, fought out between France and England over the right to claim the French crown, there is much evidence to suggest that Henry the Sixth, Part One was a popular success in performance, with contemporary accounts making reference to the gallantry of brave John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, as he fought to his death at the Battle of Castillon, an episode almost 150 years removed from Shakespeare's audiences, yet still able to elicit patriotic responses. A play that examines the roots to the famous Wars of the Roses, which set the Houses of York and Lancaster against one another for control of the English monarchy, Henry the Sixth, Part One is an unjustly neglected work: rarely performed but filled with memorable characters like the brave Talbot, crafty Richard Plantagenet (Duke of York), and, of course, the famous Joan la Pucelle - Joan of Arc.

As research-in-performance, the University of Waterloo's production of Henry the Sixth, Part One looks to casting innovations, technological elements (like the stage-bound deployment of pyrotechnics and the logistics of staging siege scenes), and a sophisticated approach to stage combat in examining this challenging, fulfilling play.

Directed by Dr. Jennifer Roberts-Smith

Production and text dramaturgy by Dr. Toby Malone

With student research assistance from Kelsey Sewell