Henry V - ★★☆☆☆ - Great value, but falls short of its own goals

Henry V is the first time Nottingham Shakespeare Company bring a history to their much-loved summer outing and on the whole it’s carried off well.

Audiences are treated to plenty of gags, physical and verbal, and much of Shakespeare’s work comes to life. Fight scenes and courtly dialogue give exciting action and welcome breaks and the cast work well in large ensemble pieces. But the show feels limited by the iconic strip of rope, with the audience on one side and the actors on the other – it feels like a show rehearsed for the stage and awkwardly stretched into an outdoor space, with the occasional stroll around the border and half-hearted attempts at audience participation.

Christopher Commander gives a commanding performance of the king, easily taking centre stage in any scene. Michelle-Louise Wright, the director, speaks of the many layers of a scarred king – even calling out famous portrayers of the role – but despite a great performance it fails to portray those lofty goals and we are left with a mostly one-dimensional Henry.

The remaining cast are tasked with various roles, some small and some large, some enthralling and others thankfully passing us quickly by. Joe, Jonathan and Alistair in particular give us many gags, some of the text and others creatively sourced from a more modern perspective. Emma Webber especially entertains and endears as one of the common men.

NSC naturally have no lighting or sound to speak of, but it certainly isn’t needed. This performance does add smoke to their arsenal which, while a little offensive to the sense of smell, was a great addition. Costumes though seemed to fill eras including the 14th century, the 1920s, 1940s, right up to modern day desert warfare – while impressive pieces for a company on a budget, a simpler and more consistent theme would’ve avoided the mental gymnastics each time a new character appeared.

For the low price of absolutely nothing NSC’s Henry V is a perfectly fine way to get a taste of Shakespeare’s history – but don’t let it be the only version you ever see.