Henry IV

Synopsis
BBC screen adaptation by John Caird which compresses both parts of Henry IV into a three-hour television drama focusing on the father/son relationships in the plays.
Series
Performance
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
28 Oct 1995 at 20:11 (Channel: BBC2)
Duration
173 mins

Credits

Director
John Caird
Producer
Annie Castledine
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
Ilona Sekacz
Costume
Joan Wadge
Art Direction
Jane Shepherd
Contributor
Michael Hastings
Cast
Ronald PickupKing Henry IV
Jonathan FirthPrince Henry (Hal)
David CalderSir John Falstaff
Rufus SewellHenry Percy (Hotspur)
Paul EddingtonJusice Shallow (Robert Shallow)
Ashley ArtusGilliams
Cive KnellerSimon Shadow
Corin RedgraveThomas Percy, Earl of Worcester
Daniel BettsLord John of Lancaster
Daniel WortersFalstaff’s page (Page)
Geoffrey HutchingsBardolph
Graham AggreyPeto
Graham HubbardRalph Mouldy
James GroutJustice Silence (Silence)
Jane HorrocksDoll Tearsheet
John DallimoreFrancis Feeble
John WoodvineNeville, Earl of Warwick
Jonathan CullenPoins
Joseph O’ConorHenry Percy, Earl of Northumberland
Josette SimonLady Percy
Paul HamiltonPeter Bullcalf
Paul WebsterSir Richard Vernon
Peter JeffreyLord Chief Justice
Peter-Hugo DalyGadshill
Roger AllamKing Richard II
Simon McBurneyPistol
Teddy KempnerSheriff
Teddy KempnerDavy
Tim McMullanSir Walter Blunt
Toby JonesThomas Wart
Tom CurlyPrince John, as a young boy (Prince John of Lancaster)

Additional Details

Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Plays
Henry IV Part 1; Henry IV Part 2
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes
Costume and setting employ Medieval and Elizabethan styles.
General
Made on a budget of £1 million, Caird’s production was the BBC’s biggest Shakespeare project since the close of the BBC Television Shakespeare series (1978-85).
History
Transmitted in two parts with five-minute break.
Figures
Viewing audience of 661 000 (consolidated viewing for the first part of the programme)
3% share of the viewing audience of BBC2 for that day
(Figures provided by BARB, the Broadcasters Audience Research Board, 1995)
Awards
Nominated for a BAFTA TV award in the category ‘Best Costume Design’ (Joan Wadge) in 1995.
Textual information
John Caird’s adaptation liberally cuts parts of the original Henry IV texts (removing almost everyone - to use Caird’s words - named after an English county) and pastes additional material from Richard II, Henry V, Henry VI Part 3 and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Reviews
H.R. Coursen, "History and Television: Two Recent Productions" in his Shakespeare in Space: Recent Shakespeare Productions on Screen (New York et al.: Peter Lang, 2002), pp. 45-52.

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Henry IV". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av36559 (Accessed 03 Oct 2024)