Life of King Henry V, The

Synopsis: 'Streamlined’ radio version of the play produced and adapted for broadcasting by Frank Hauser with a youthful Richard Burton in the title role. The play, shortened to fit the 90-minute slot, concentrates on the action of King Henry and his victories. The character of Pistol has been cut in it entirety. The music for the broadcast is composed by John Buckland. Clifton Helliwell conducts.
Series: Saturday-Night Theatre
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Radio
Recording date: 3 Apr 1949
Transmission details: 23 Apr 1949 at 21:00 (Channel: BBC Home Service)
Duration: 90 mins
Availability: No archive copy known

Notes: A BBC recording.
General: Rehearsals: 27/3/1949-3/4/1949
History: Initially broadcast as part of the St. George’s Day commemorations, it was transmitted again two days later as part of the ‘Monday Matinee’ series in the BBC Light Programme at 16.30 London time.
Textual information: A written transcript of the production is held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.
Reviews: Frank Hauser comments on his editorial decisions and the challenges an adaptor/producer faces adapting this play for radio in a column entitled ‘Saturday-Night Shakespeare’ in Radio Times, 15 April 1949.

In his review of the broadcast for The Listener, Lionel Hale criticises the fact that Shakespeare’s plays are truncated for broadcasting, a practice, he argues, that disregards the audiences familiarity with the richness of his plays: "I enquire why the barest bones of a Shakespearean play should be called ‘Henry V’. If I say Mr. Hauser made an excellent job of this, I speak as a man might speak of an executioner who disembowelled a friend of his. One does not (in short) believe it should have been done at all" (Vol. 41, 28 April 1949, p. 731).

Shakespeare, "Life of King Henry V, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av66727 (Accessed 19 Sep 2024)

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