Overview

From the Royal Shakespeare Company a fresh new edition of Shakespeare's great exploration of patriotism and war. This edition includes an introduction to Henry V by award-winning scholar Jonathan Bate, the text of the play with clear and authoritative explanatory notes on each page, a helpful scene-by-scene analysis and key facts about the play, an introduction to Shakespeare's career and the Elizabethan theatre and a rich exploration of approaches to staging the play featuring photographs of key productions. This unique edition presents a historical overview of Henry V in performance, recommends film versions, takes a detailed look at specific productions and includes interviews with three leading directors - Nicholas Hytner, Michael Boyd and Ed Hall - so that we may get a sense of the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible, a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made 'our contemporary' four centuries after his death. Ideal for students, theatre-goers, actors and general readers, the RSC Shakespeare editions offer an accessible and contemporary approach to reading and rediscovering Shakespeare's works for the twenty-first century.