Overview

This full cast presentation includes Part 1 and Part 2 of Shakespeare's Henry IV. In 1598 appeared a Quarto with the following title: The History of Henrie the Fourth; With the Battell at Shrewsburie, betweene the King and Lord Henry Percy, surnamed Henrie Hotspur of the North. With the humorous conceits of Sir John Falstaffe. At London. Printed by P. S. for Andrew Wise, dwelling in Paules Churchyard, at the signe of the Angell. 1598. This was the First Part of Shakespeare's Henry IV, which must have been written in 1597. This play is the first in which Shakespeare really demonstrated his great and overwhelming individuality. Its dramatic structure is fairly loose, though is closer knit and technically stronger than that of the Second Part. However, as a poetical creation, it is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, at once heroic and burlesque, thrilling and side-splitting. Yet these contrasted elements are not brought into hard-and-fast rhetorical antithesis, but move and mingle with a natural freedom. The driving elements of the plot are the machinations of the guilt-ridden King Henry IV to establish the legitimacy of his accession and the inevitable revolt by the former supporters who helped him to gain the throne. One of the leaders of the opposing faction is the warlike Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur, who the king compares unfavourably with his own son, the self-indulgent and riotous Prince Hal. The prince spends much of his time cavorting with a group of boon companions, the most notable of which is the dissipated and unscrupulous knight, Sir John Falstaff, who acts as something of a surrogate parent. At the end of the First Part, the revolt is suppressed; in the conflict, Prince Hal reveals his true character as a doughty defender of the realm. In the Second Part, the king's health progressively declines and Hal begins to assert his royal prerogative. Eventually, the king dies, and Hal, now having shed all his adolescent impertinence, ascends to the throne. Falstaff, in expectation of elevation to high office and new-found prosperity, publicly accosts the new king and is rudely rebuffed, together with his disreputable retinue. Audio edited by Denis Daly The text used for this performance was kindly provided by playshakespeare.com. Welsh dialogue and tune for Lady Mortimer's song in Henry IV Part One provided by Noni Lewis.

Full Product Details

9798228363670

Table of Contents

Reviews

""The ripest fruit of historic or national drama, the consummation and the crown of Shakespeare's labours in that line, must of course be recognised and saluted by all students in the supreme and sovereign trilogy of King Henry IV and King Henry V."" -- ""A. C. Swinburne, author of A Study of Shakespeare""

Author Information

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is the most famous poet and playwright in the English language. Tim Dehn resides in Melbourne, Australia. He narrated the audiobook version of Tony Rinaudo's autobiography, The Forest Underground: Hope for a Planet in Crisis, winner of the Australian Christian Book of the Year Award 2022. Rory Barnett is a British narrator, living in London. Although English by nationality, his ancestry is worldly to say the least: he is part French, Danish, English, Irish, and Russian. He speaks French fluently and studied German and Spanish. He even studied a bit of Arabic and Chinese. He went to one of the most famous schools in the world-Eton College-and started working at the BBC in 2000. He was a radio presenter, reporter, and news producer. That's where he learned to speak into a microphone. He also learned the priceless skill of injecting life and meaning into complicated news stories, as well as how to read news copy without mistakes on first sight. He left the BBC to become a full-time voice artist. Rory has an obsessive love for trivia (sports, films, music) and sometimes acts as quizmaster for charity quiz evenings. He also sings in a band. Denis Daly and Sarah Bacaller are Australian narrators and audiobook producers. Graham Scott is a narrator and voice actor based in the UK. As well as solo performances of works by authors including PG Wodehouse, Charles Dickens, R Austin Freeman, Dorothy L. Sayers, Jules Verne, Anna Katherine Green, Joseph Conrad, GK Chesterton, and John Buchan, Graham is also a regular performer in group productions with both Voices of Today and The Online Stage. Website: www.GrahamScottAudio.com Gregory Dwyer is a New Zealand-born Australian voice actor. He spent twenty-four years working internationally in theatre, film, television, and radio, before an eighteen-year stint as a Forensic Crime Scene Examiner. He has now returned to voice acting, specializing in audiobooks. Josh Innerst is an accomplished classical stage actor and AudioFile Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator. He continues to pursue his craft in film/TV and is currently based in the Midwest with his family. When he's not onstage or on-set, he spends his days in the booth or out putzing in the garden. Roberta Jackson has audiobooks on Audible, Learning Ally, the National Library Service for the Blind, and other platforms. She has narrated audiobooks for publishers and production companies including Simon & Schuster, Dreamscape, Lycan Valley, John Marshall Media, Voices of Today, and many more. Her work includes multiple characters in multi-cast productions: fantasy, thrillers, poetry, and Shakespeare. Roberta has also narrated character voice roles in audio dramas, podcasts, video games, and web comics.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available