ABSTRACT
Much of the critical work that has been produced in recent years around the idea of a European Shakespeare has focused on national versions in peacetime Europe. One of the Shakespeare plays that acquired relevance in World War II is King Henry V. In 1941 Germany was preparing to attack the Soviet Union, but not before giving a helping hand to the Italians, who were experiencing great difficulty in invading Greece. In February 1941 the British started moving part of their armed forces to the south in order to create an English-Greek resistance line, able to block German passage. A Greek writer, who was a soldier in the camp, records in his diary: Every night in the provincial taverns we had pleasurable meetings with the soldiers that camped in Haithari; first English soldiers, now Australians. In the spring of 1941, the National Theatre attempts to tune into the prevailing war mood with Henry V, a newcomer on the Greek stage.
