By Charles Hutchinson for The Press (York), 15 October 2015
FROM a record 25 pitches to direct York Shakespeare Project’s first all-woman production, Maggie Smales won the battle.
She will stage Henry V at the Upstage Centre Theatre, 41 Monkgate, from October 21 to 31, the period covering the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt.
For YSP’s 28th show, Maggie has set Henry V during the First World War at the Barnbow munitions factory, just outside Leeds, where its female workforce re-enact Shakespeare’s history play as they explore the meaning of war through Shakespeare’s own discourse.
“Shakespeare presents Henry V, played by Claire Morley, as a king who matches the idealised national hero while also revealing another less appealing side of his character on more than one occasion,” says Maggie. “His play shows us Henry set in context of the full spectrum of class and rank and it’s as much about the experiences of war for the people living through it as it is about those who wage it.”
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