ABSTRACT
The traditional portrayal of Henry IV has been in terms of anguished guilt. John Gielgud's performance in the Orson Welles film The Chimes at Midnight might be called the classic example. In this revolutionary interpretation, Henry was presented as being far from inert and Versions of Falstaff might differ widely, but his status in the play will always be basically the same, as the chosen focus of Hal's truancy. Before the battle of Shrewsbury, the prince stepped forward to give defiance to Worcester, his father brusquely pulled him back, and took over. Inevitably, the most recent of the productions we have discussed tends to seem the most persuasive. A production making good use of Hal's youth in interpreting his character is that of Trevor Nunn in 1982 at the Barbican Theatre, London. The point was made all the clearer by the carefully contrasted figure of Hotspur, lovingly portrayed by Roy Dotrice.
