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Monday, September 27th, 2010

As the rain patters against the skylight above me, I must conclude that our long summer has at last been vanquished by the inexorable advance of the seasons, and that we are now, on the brink of October, staring winter in the face. Not that I care, I actually prefer the cold – amusing hats and warm soups are far more my style than flip-flops and sunburnt flab.  But it does mean that many of London’s summer delights are slipping off into hibernation, and there is no pleasure it will pain me more to lose than that of an evening spent leaning enraptured, chubby chin upon chilly hands, against the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, in which pose I have recently enjoyed Henry IV Parts One and Two.

A word to the wise: the current season ends on the 9th October, so go now before it’s too late.
Because to be quite frank, the Globe’s Henry IV is quite possibly one of the most enjoyable – the most funny, engrossing, oddly touching – experiences at a theatre that I’ve ever had. An accomplishment in no small part due to the charismatic performances of rogue-to-monarch Prince Hal and the fat man who haunts him.

Of course, Shakespeare isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. And in praising both plays so highly to those I call my friends and family I did face not a little incredulity and rather a lot of persistent unwillingness to sit (never mind stand) through a whole Shakespeare play. I would cruelly call them philistines for not bothering to try (indeed, I did call some philistines), but that is counter-productive to what I’m trying to say, and to what this production of Henry IV, sparkling with life and wit for the full course of each three hour instalment, so admirably proved. Shakespeare, I argued for the umpteenth time down the phone last week, is after all not some lofty, incomprehensible work one needs a PhD in English Literature to decipher, but dynamic, emotional and true entertainment for the masses.

And if you won’t take my word for it, perhaps you would take that of a certain Mr Fry? For the cherry on my delightful Shakespeare cake last Sunday was to spot, when battling my way through exiting crowds, the unmistakeable figure of Stephen Fry, who’d apparently also been in the audience that evening. What a charming discovery! So charmed was I indeed that when I got home I permitted myself a despicable act of stalkerish behaviour by logging on to his twitter site, on which I read:

‘Adored both parts of Henry IV. Best Falstaff and Harry and fabulous cast all round. Shakespeare’s Globe should be so proud.’ (11:00pm Sept 19th)

I have therefore, dear blog-enthusiasts, wasted quite a bit of your precious time in trying to say what Stephen Fry has managed to in less than 140 characters; basically, it’s wonderful.

Georgina Phipps, Editorial Administrator

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