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Shakespeare & Beyond

What's onstage in January at Shakespeare theaters across America: The Henry VI trilogy and more

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Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy is hot right now. In December, PBS broadcast The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, which adapts the three plays in two parts (and also adds Richard III, with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the title character.)

Cincinnati Shakespeare

Darnell Pierre Benjamin as King Henry VI and Kelly Mengelkoch as Queen Margaret. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Ohio’s Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has also adapted the trilogy in two parts. Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses, Part 2 runs Jan 20 through Feb 11. Cincinnati’s producing artistic director, Brian Isaac Phillips, will direct the play, which features Darnell Pierre Benjamin as King Henry VI and Kelly Mengelkoch as Queen Margaret. It’s paired with the upcoming Cincy Shakes production of Richard III, which opens Feb 17. With Richard III, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company aims to become only the second theater company in the U.S. to have completed Shakespeare’s entire history cycle in order.

Seattle Shakespeare in Washington is also presenting a two-part adaption of the Henry VI plays, Bring Down the House—with an all-female ensemble! The production is a collaboration with upstart crow collective, a group dedicated to producing classical works with all-female casts for contemporary audiences. “This is the most ambitious show that we’ve ever done,” Artistic Director George Mount said at the first rehearsal.

Director Rosa Joshi, who co-adapted the plays, says, “I’m struck how the history plays capture the cynicism of leaders who are driven by very personal ambitions. These ambitions have the brutal consequences on everyday people, on families, on women and children. At its core, Henry VI is about a massive civil war fought for personal political goals.” Performances start Jan 25.

Esther French

Esther French is the Digital Managing Editor at the Folger Shakespeare Library. — View all posts by Esther French

Comments

The Rude Mechanicals of Richland, WA are presenting Julius Caesar using Amanda Denhert’s OSF adaptation for a female Caesar. This production also has a female Cassius.

Miriam Kerzner — January 18, 2017