Exploring Shakespeare

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First run-through

Nick, Jimmy and Wela last rehearsed this scene weeks ago. They begin by playing the scene as they left it.

What's Pistol thinking?

The group discuss how the Frenchman's clothes will be a giveaway that he is wealthy.

'Or I will cut his throat…'

Despite the language barrier, Pistol can make this threat obvious and create a moment of 'horrible tension'.

Coat cover up

Michael and Nick decide that Pistol will cover the Frenchman with a coat as he leads him away. (This idea was not used in the finished production.)

The French Soldier

Jimmy and Michael discuss how the Frenchman will appear at the start of the scene.

Changing Pistol's mood

The actors begin a run-through. Michael stops them to ask Nick to change from 'whipped dog' to a confident 'bully'.

The Boy's last words

Michael and Wela realise that these are the Boy's last words before he dies so he can add a sense of foreboding.

Final run-through

Watch how the scene has changed since the first run-through as the actors incorporate all the notes.

Rehearsal photo gallery

Go behind the scenes in rehearsals with the Histories ensemble working on Henry V.

Rehearsal notes

In rehearsals, director Michael Boyd makes notes and gives the actors feedback after each run-through of a scene, or part of a scene. Here, you can watch Michael discussing his notes with Nick, Jimmy and Wela at a rehearsal for Henry V Act 4 Scene 4, the scene where Pistol encounters the French Soldier.

Michael talks about the French soldier being a "plump steaming chicken" - he compares moments of the play with cartoons. Just like a "steaming chicken" to a cartoon cat, the soldier represents an irresistible prize which Pistol has encountered by chance.

Watch the actors incorporate the feedback as they run through the scene several times.

Watch interviews with Nick, Wela and Jimmy just after this rehearsal.