THD Production Spotlight: "King Henry VI Part 2"

By ALEX NOVAK

With pirate battles, kazoo numbers, executions and twisted schemes at every turn, UB Theatre and Dance’s production of King Henry VI Part 2 offers hijinks galore. However, the show-with performances Apr. 5 and 6 in the Center for the Arts Rehearsal Workshop-is more than just spectacle.

King Henry, which chronicles attempts by political rivals to usurp the power of England’s inept ruler, is an exploration of the Shakespearean performance style known as Original Practice. To parallel production circumstances of The Bard’s own time, actors hold scripts in the form of scrolls, interact with the audience, and engage with an onstage prompter.

In essence, it is a coup d’état of the traditional theatre practices of our time.

“I think this is experimental theatre at its finest,” Crissy Iglesias-Baires, cast member and a freshman theatre performance major, said. “In this show, there really is nothing that's set in stone apart from the gags that we have set up. We always have the liberty of just popping in and adding something new.”

Perhaps one of the most compelling elements is King Henry’s atypical double casting. All of the actors rehearsed two tracks. The night of each performance, a coin flip determines who plays which roles. This spontaneous aspect presents both challenges and learning opportunities for the cast.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking because having to switch between five characters each track is a lot,” Sophia Brito, cast member and a freshman theatre performance major, said. “But I think we’re prepared for it and are ready.”

“Having the scrolls was odd at first, but especially for this show, I think it's necessary for us,” Sarah Bray, cast member and a freshman theatre performance major, said. “It's been interesting to see us all play so many roles and play different roles on each night, because we don't have the stress of memorizing our lines.”

The onstage prompter helps to ensure that the play moves along without a hitch. If something goes amiss, the prompter can step in to assist. Though in this production, the prompter has an additional role: the power to ring a bell to stop the scene and to ask the actors a question. The cast must reply in character.

“The ability to sort of call into the scene and say, ‘What are we doing here? What is going on in this moment?’ is a really fun way of working with text,” shared Ian Downes, a theatre PhD student who has been given the power of the prompter. “I think one of my favorite things about theatre in general is that anything could happen at any moment.”

With its embrace of Original Practice and creative integration of silly shenanigans, King Henry promises to be a royally good time.

Freelance writer Alex Novak is a senior English major, with a minor in theatre performance.