600 years ago King Henry V defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt, relying heavily on the skill of Welsh archers to achieve his victory against overwhelming odds.
As part of the Agincourt 600 celebrations, Abergavenny’s Suitcase Theatre Company has joined forced with Rareseed Theatre to tackle Shakespeare’s classic history play and bring it to the Melville Theatre.
Henry V at the Melville Theatre? Surely not! How can you stage the Battle of Agincourt in such a small space? ‘That’s exactly the question that Shakespeare asked himself when he contemplated staging the play at the Globe Theatre’, remarks William Gilbert, Suitcase Theatre’s director. ‘In fact, the play begins with a famous speech by the Chorus apologising for the fact that it’s going to be difficult to cram the battle into the wooden O that is Shakespeare’s Globe. So we’re facing exactly the same challenges that were faced by the Bard himself in his original production.’
So how are Rareseed and Suitcase meeting those challenges? ‘To find out the answer to that, you’ll have to come to the Melville Theatre to see the show,’ William insists. But judging from the past track record of both Suitcase and Rareseed, we can be fairly sure that the solutions will be creative and imaginative. Once more unto the breach, dear friends!
Performances will take place at the Melville Theatre, Peny-y-Pound, Abergavenny on Fri 30th/Sat 31st October at 7.30pm. There will also be a matinée performance on Sunday 1st November at 2.30pm. Tickets are £8, or £5 for under-18s. They can be reserved in advance by leaving a message on the Centre’s answerphone (01873 853167) or by emailing: melvillecentre@outlook.com.
