Chicago Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” with Elijah Jones, Jaylon Muchison, Gregory Linington, Adam Poss, Sean Fortunato, Ronald L. Conner, Scott Aiello and Demetrios Troy/Photo: Liz Lauren
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The costumes and set for Chicago Shakespeare’s “Henry V” are in shades of grey—the soldiers’ camouflage uniforms, the metal battlements, the grey, cargo boxes. Often, the action is suffused with mist.
The color scheme is appropriate for this play about war and conquest, which is full of ambiguities. Is young King Henry a hero or a butcher in his war against France? An earnest lover or a shrewd politician, greedy for land? He is all of these things, and this intelligent production of one of Shakespeare’s best-known history plays challenges our ideas about nationalism, war and the nature of leadership. “Henry V” is like one of those M.C. Escher prints where sometimes you see fish and sometimes ducks—it plays with your perception.
Led by artistic director Edward Hall, “Henry V” has a great cast taking multiple roles, including such Chicago theater luminaries as Kate Fry (Duke of Westmoreland/Monsieur Le Fer/Alice), Sean Fortunato (King of France/Erpingham/Duke of York), Ronald L. Conner (Bardolph/Duke of Orleans) and Scott Aiello (Duke of Salisbury/Williams/Nym). The production stresses, as Shakespeare does, that this is make-believe, and you must stretch your imagination to put yourself in the court of Henry or the bloody field of Agincourt. This is accomplished in part by dividing up the Prologue (“Oh for a Muse of fire…”) among the ensemble so that everyone is narrating the action. Costume changes are pulled from boxes on the set—we are playing make-believe together, and yet we believe it.
Chicago Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” with Elijah Jones and Kate Fry/Photo: Liz Lauren
All of this could not have worked without a strong Henry, and we get that with Elijah Jones in his Chicago Shakespeare debut. Jones is a remarkably charismatic actor with a powerful voice, a presence who commands every scene he’s in. He shows each side of this paradoxical monarch—a king who can make a deal with money-hungry clerics while still believing his victory is from God, a man of the people who can inveigle them into giving up their lives for his cause, someone who weeps for a friend even as he orders his execution. I liked this Henry more than I usually do, though his justification for taking France remains dubious.
“Henry” is a soldiers’ play, and Conner, Aiello, Demetrios Troy (Pistol), Courtney Rikki Green (Katherine, Princess of France/young lad), Gregory Linington (Archbishop of Canterbury/Bates/Governor of Harfleur) and Rachel Crowl (Fluellen/Grey) make the most of the play’s comic, “regular guy” moments. There’s a fun bit where members of the ensemble perform The Clash’s “London Calling,” carousing in a pub before shipping over the channel. The song fits Michael Pavelka’s late-seventies style costumes, and in the context, Joe Strummer’s lyrics sound oddly Shakespearean. Music director Jonathan Trenchard effectively uses a mix of modern and old songs, including “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” The Pogues’ “A Pair of Brown Eyes” and “Non nobis, Domine” after the last battle.
“Henry V” runs through October 6 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 East Grand. Showtimes: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday at 7pm (except September 24); Wednesdays at 1pm and 7pm; Saturdays at 2pm and 7pm; Sundays at 2pm. For ticketing information, visit chicagoshakes.com.
