Uneasy Lies the Head

Synopsis: Sixth episode in a fifteen-part televised series comprising Shakespeare’s history plays from Richard II to Richard III (the two tetralogies), effectively presenting a chronological history of British royalty from 1377 to 1485. This episode covers Henry IV, Part 2, Acts III-V.
Series: Age of Kings, An
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Television
Transmission details: 7 Jul 1960 at 21:00 (Channel: BBC)
Duration: 60 mins

Director

Michael Hayes

Producer

Writer

Music

Art Direction

Contributor

Arthur Bliss; Eric Crozier; Lionel Salter

Cast

Tom Fleming	King Henry IV
Robert Hardy	Prince Henry, later crowned Henry V
Frank Pettingell	Sir John Falstaff
William Squire	Robert Shallow
Adrian Brine
Alan Rowe	Harcourt
Anthony Valentine	Groom
Brian Smith	Francis Feeble
Dane Howell	Page
Derek Ware	Groom
Edgar Wreford	Scroop, Archbishop of York
Frank Windsor	Peter Bullcalf
Geoffrey Bayldon	Lord Chief Justice
George A. Cooper	Pistol
George A. Cooper	Pistol
Gordon Gostelow	Bardolph
John Greenwood	Thomas, Duke of Clarence
John Murray Scott
John Ringham	Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
John Warner	Silence
Kenneth Farrington	Neville, Earl of Warwick
Leon Shepperdson	Simon Shadow
Michael Graham Cox	David (Davy)
Noel Johnson	Lord Mowbray
Patrick Garland	Prince John of Lancaster
Robert Lang	Lord Hastings
Terence Lodge	Ralph Mouldy
Terry Wale	Thomas Wart
Timothy Harley
William Squire	Epilogue

Production type: Television and Radio Drama
Historical period: Medieval
Plays: Henry IV Part 2
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items: Eternity of Kings, An; New Conspiracy, The; Rebellion from the North; Road to Shrewsbury, The

Notes: Commercially available on DVD as part of a 5-disc box set from BBC Warner (released March 2009). A written transcript of the series is being held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.
General: As Michael Brooke notes, this production was "the most conceptually ambitious Shakespeare project ever attempted for either film or television." Each episode involved expenses of £4.000 and a cast of 600. The rehearsal period took thirty weeks.
History: Transmitted in the US on PBS’ WNEW-TV channel 14 February 1961.
Awards: Directors Guild of Great Britain Award for Excellence in Directing (Peter Dews)

1962 The George Foster Peabody Award
Textual information: Script editor Michael Cozier cut the texts into 60 -75 minute episodes which, for the most part, comprised half a complete play.
Reviews: Michael Brooke, "Age of Kings, An (1960)", http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/527213/index.html

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