Henry IV Part 2
Director: Gregory Doran
Writer: William Shakespeare
Sequel to: Henry IV Part 1
Cast: Antony Sher, Alex Hassell, Jasper Britton, Sam Marks, Trevor White, Paola Dionisotti, Antony Byrne

Plot:
Part 2 continues basically seamlessly from Part 1: Falstaff (Antony Sher) continues to be a drunken troublemaker, a trickster who cons his way through life. He is joined by a couple of characters who are likeminded – most notably Pistol (Antony Byrne). In the meantime Hal (Alex Hassell) comes ever closer to become the king. Henry (Jasper Britton) is slowly dying. But his faith in Hal is still rather weak.

Whereas I was emotionally involved in Part One, if only because I was so annoyed by Hal and Falstaff, Part 2 generally left me rather cold. Maybe I really have to read Shakespeare to appreciate him properly.

[SPOILERS]

This production of part 2 is basically the same as the production of part 1. The actors are the same, the set design is the same and the costumes are the same as well. And yet there is this huge gap between the two parts somehow. I didn’t like part 1 a whole lot but at least I was emotionally involved. In part 2, I might as well have slept through it for all the emotions I went through while watching.

With the notable exception of the ending, where Hal brushes past Falstaff and denies their friendship. That was a touching moment, despite the fact that I still can’t stand either Falstaff or Hal.

Surprisingly I did enjoy a lot of Pistol’s antics. I thought that I would like him about as much as I like Falstaff and Hal, but while I never want to be alone in a room with Pistol for longer than a couple of minutes at a time, it was fun to watch him in the play.

But mostly I just wanted to read the entire thing instead of watch it. Reading always makes me appreciate the language more and it also makes it possible to take breaks from Falstaff (and characters like him) – and I would have needed a break every once in a while.

Summarizing: It’s still not the production’s fault but I really don’t care for these plays.