Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound: Henry V at Stratford

Aside from his frenetic comedies of the past few years, I have not been a fan of Des McAnuff's directorial work at Stratford. As such, perhaps I was already a little biased when I went to see this season's flagship production of Henry V. But, as predicted, this interpretation held all the hallmarks of Mr McAnuff serving the needs of the lowest common denominator rather than the text.

The Importance of Challenging Theatre

That I should even feel the need to write an article with the title this one has is extremely depressing. There was a time when expression and innovation in the arts was revered rather than ridiculed, as it is today in political and professional platforms. It is my belief that I was not alive for this time. Particularly in the nation I live in, where the arts are simultaneously protected and denigrated by my current government, the arts seems more and more like a corporate outreach program every day.

Today, artists of any kind - theatre, writing, film or dance - seem to be phobic of making their work relevant to the current time and place. I can't speak for other fields, but what results is what in my field is known as 'dead theatre' (thank you Peter Brooks); a very nicely staged play done in a retrospective context rather than a current one. There is no reason for such a production to exist except to put bums in seats.