Review: Henry V by Red Then Productions
by Michael Meigs
We arrived on that hot Saturday July 4 afternoon at the Off Center to be greeted by Barbara Chisholm and a cup of champagne.
Stepping from the heat and dazzle into the cool dimness of the theatre, we found ourselves face-to-face with Robert Faires himself. He greeted us, welcomed us, and accompanied us to our choice of seats. In that small assembly we saw faces familiar to us from Austin's stages.
A woman of handsome, striking appearance stood chatting with persons in the front row as the house continued to fill. "My, this is like attending a wedding reception, isn't it?"
This is how things might have been in Henry's own court, had he secured his kingship over both England and France. Robert Faires' Henry V that afternoon was a special entertainment before a band of acquaintances. The performer was at ease and familiar with his audience. His wife and daughter had their own roles in marshaling the spectacle. We all knew that something special was about to happen.
Faires walked into the playing area, causing a hush that appeared to embarrass him. "Oh, please go on talking!"
He was too near the sacred space for us to feel at ease. Another ten, fifteen seconds passed with no more than hushed conversation in the audience; the lights dimmed and silence ensued.
Faires stepped into the pool of light at center stage and delivered the Prologue's invitation to imagination.
O For a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention:
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act,
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene.
That 34-line speech distills the essence of Shakespeare's methodology and Fairees' one-performer adaptation of it. The Prologue acknowledges the humble setting of the stage, this humble scaffold, relative to the mighty events that involved
Two mighty monarchies,
Whose high, up-reared, and abutting fronts,
The perilous narrow Ocean parts asunder.
Faires invited us to piece out imperfections with your thoughts and gently to hear, kindly to judge our play.
I was momentarily disconcerted by his animated middle-America accent; surely this was his own voice? Very like; for his accent and mannerism shifted markedly across the Atlantic as he stepped smoothly into the dialoguing persons of the bishops of Canterbury and Ely. From there, shedding his wire-rimmed spectacles, shifting posture, voice and demeanor, Faires became Henry V himself, questioning and judging their opinion of the non-applicability of the Salic law.
We were mesmerised. In that small, non-wooden, non-round "O" of a theatre, Robert Faires recreated with us those vasty fields of France with Shakespeare's succession of nobles, warriors and characters. 
And the language! His were not "readings" of the text, but rather demonstrations of his absorption of it, a performance fluently unifying the complexities and nuances of language, motivation and character. Faires lost not a syllable or an intention, and Shakespeare's language shimmered before us in that place for the 80 minutes of the play.
Catherine Weidner's direction and Jason Amato's lighting fully supported this remarkable presentation. Because we were so intent upon Faires' words, the occasional use of sound cues of church bells, horses or harnesses were atmospheric but neither particularly helpful nor necessary.
Faires used a bit of mischief in his accents, perhaps just to remind us that this his long-planned creation was not intended to be just another knockoff from the Royal Shakespeare. He gave American regional accents to the common soldiers. The Welshman Fluellen sounded a bit like a Texas cowboy, and common soldiers Williams and Bates at the campfire before battle could have been Confederate soldiers from different states.
His cuts in the text eliminate some rogues, clowns and fooling. Pistol and Bardolph disappear, and most of Shakespeare's foolery with the French language is gone.
This is a vision of the great ones and of Henry's own mercurial adaptability. Henry is judge, leader, warrior, humanitarian, courtier, statesman and -- in perhaps the most delicious scene of all -- lover.
Robert Faires' Henry V project, twenty years in preparation, is an interpretation of depth, grace and a profound understanding of Shakespeare's language and text. It is not to be missed. Highly recommended.
Travis Bedard's review of the same performance, posted at cambiareproductions.com, July 5
Tim Bauer's response to Travis Bedard's post, July 10
Review by kelseyk at austinist.com, July 10
Review by Elizabeth Cobbe in the Austin Chronicle, July 16
John Aielli interviews Robert Faires, Barbara Chisholm, and Catherine Weidner about Henry V, June 30
EXTRA
Click for program of Henry V with Robert Faires, Red Then Productions
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Henry V
by William Shakespeeare
Red Then Productions
2211-A Hidalgo Street
near Robert Martinez and E. 7th Street, behind Joe's Bakery
Austin, TX, 78702
