The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced that the history plays Henry IV Parts I and II will tour to six venues and play at the Barbican in London after a season in Stratford.
The RSC is presenting them to mark Shakespeare’s 450th birthday.
Artistic director Gregory Doran says, “Henry IV Parts I and II were chosen to open the Elisabeth Scott Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford in 1932.
“We presented them as part of the celebrations for the Festival of Britain in 1951, with Richard Burton as Hal; and for Shakespeare’s tercentenary in 1964 directed by Peter Hall.
“They're great plays to celebrate a big occasion and I’m delighted to be taking them on the road.
“I’m thrilled to be working with a cast that includes Antony Sher as Falstaff, Jasper Britton as Henry IV, Alex Hassell as Hal and Paola Dionisotti as Mistress Quickly.
“Henry IV Parts I and II, with their mixture of comedy, history and pathos, have always had a broad appeal. I hope audiences will join us to experience what are arguably two of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.”
Knighted for his services for acting and writing, Antony Sher first worked for the RSC in 1982. He last appeared with the RSC in the 2009 production of The Tempest in association with the Baxter Theatre Centre, Cape Town.
Jasper Britton’s previous RSC work includes Petruchio in Gregory Doran’s productions of The Taming of the Shrew and The Tamer Tamed in 2003.
Alex Hassell returns to the RSC after appearing in Shakespeare’s “lost” play Cardenio, Philip Massinger’s The City Madam and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2011.
Paola Dionisotti is Mistress Quickly. She played Pandulph in King John and Margaret in Richard III for the RSC in 2012.
The cast of Henry IV Parts I and II comprises Elliot Barnes-Worrell (Prince John / Francis); Martin Bassindale (Peto); Jasper Britton (King Henry IV); Antony Byrne (Worcester / Pistol); Sean Chapman (Northumberland / Earl of Douglas); Oliver Ford Davies (Shallow); Paola Dionisotti (Mistress Quickly); Jonny Glynn (Gadshill / Warwick); Nia Gwynne (Lady Mortimer / Doll Tearsheet); Alex Hassell (Prince Hal); Jim Hooper (Sir Richard Vernon / Silence); Youssef Kerkour (Westmoreland); Sam Marks (Poins); Keith Osborn (Scroop); Leigh Quinn (traveller / Wart); Joshua Richards (Bardolph / Glendower); Antony Sher (Sir John Falstaff); Simon Thorp (Sir Walter Blunt / Lord Chief Justice); Trevor White (Hotspur / Mowbray) and Simon Yadoo (Chamberlain / Lord Bardolph).
The production is designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis, lighting is by Tim Mitchell, music by Paul Englishby, sound by Martin Slavin, movement by Michael Ashcroft and fights by Terry King.
Henry IV Parts I and II play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford from March until September. They then tour to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Norwich, Salford, Bradford, Bath and Canterbury between September and November before playing at the Barbican in London between November and January 2015.
Dates are available on the RSC web site.