Henry V
by William Shakespeare

In partnership with Tennessee Shakespeare Co.

June 9-19, 2016
University of Memphis Department of Theatre & Dance

Please visit www.tnshakespeare.org to purchase tickets and to sign up for email news.

Theatre at its best matches fine minds and talents together to collaborate towards an artistic vision. Our partnership with Tennessee Shakespeare Company brings TSC professionals, talented U of M theatre faculty designers, alums and students together to play, explore and create in the world of William Shakespeare.

Our summer hallways are not quiet and deserted as in prior years but filled with verse and character. Our students are hired to work alongside equity actors, designers and directors from around the country in the only professional classical theatre (AEA-SPT 7) in the Mid-south. Our inaugural year (2015) featured a glorious A Midsummer Night's Dream set in the Bayou. Our second production (2016) to open June 9 is Henry V and promises to be a compelling glimpse at the tangle of politics while we are in the midst of our own tumultuous primary season- the intriguing intersection of art and life.

Shakespeare's rousing history crowns both young King Henry V as a warrior Legend and his rationale for waging war as a haunting moral ambiguity. In his youth, young Hal spent his days in a band of pick-pockets led by the derelict fat knight Falstaff. But having successfully defended his father-King in their country's civil war, now King Henry decides France is his to take. He conquers superior numbers abroad with soaring orations and wins a princess without a tongue for French. But at what cost? At 10 minutes prior to each performance, Dan McCleary and/or the director will speak with the audience about the play and playwright.

Sponsored by FedEx, Ann and Wellford Tabor, Ernest and Pat Kelly, and the University of Memphis