Recently in Theater Category

I have spoken before of my love for Henry's speech before the Battle of Agincourt in Shakespeare's Henry V.  It is with great sadness then that I must report that Sony has employed the rousing words of the great bard to sell video games. 

Exhibit 1:



I think I am crying inside.

*****Updated with Multimedia goodness at the bottom*****

I read an article today on the Top 10 Life Affirming Movie Moments on cnn.com.  I think I might replace the scene from Blade Runner with the freedom speech from Braveheart, but that is just a personal thing.  Overall the list is pretty good.  I'll always love the moment in The Shawshank Redemption when you realize Andy escaped.  Actually, that whole movie is awesome, but the escape completely caught me off guard.  Anyway, the article got me thinking about those great moments in fiction that stir the soul and make you want to get out and do something with your life.  It is at these times when I always come back to Henry's monologue before the battle of Agincourt in Shakespeare's Henry V.  I think that speech, above all else, is what makes me wish I was a Shakespearian actor.  To have the opportunity to deliver that speech in front of an audience must be an amazing moment.  I reprint it here so those of you that maybe have not had the opportunity to read the words may do so.  To set the scene, the English army is tired and suffering from illnesses like dysentery.  The English are preparing to fight through the French to get to the port of Calais and then back to England.  The English are outnumbered and broken but Henry knows he has to rouse his troops for a battle they should not be able to win. 

WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here
    But one ten thousand of those men in England
    That do no work to-day!
 
KING. What's he that wishes so?
    My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
    If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
    To do our country loss; and if to live,
    The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
    God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
    By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
    Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
    It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
    Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
    But if it be a sin to covet honour,
    I am the most offending soul alive.
    No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
    God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
    As one man more methinks would share from me
    For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
    Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
    That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
    Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
    And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
    We would not die in that man's company
    That fears his fellowship to die with us.
    This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
    He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
    Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
    And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
    He that shall live this day, and see old age,
    Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
    And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
    Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
    And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
    Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
    But he'll remember, with advantages,
    What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
    Familiar in his mouth as household words-
    Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
    Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
    Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
    This story shall the good man teach his son;
    And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
    From this day to the ending of the world,
    But we in it shall be remembered-
    We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
    For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
    Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
    This day shall gentle his condition;
    And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
    Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
    And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
    That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

How utterly awesome is that?  The king basically says "What?  We don't need more men!  When we win this battle today we want all the glory for ourselves.  I don't want to share our triumph with anyone.  In fact, I am so confident that we will win that anyone that wants to go home right now can leave.  I'll even pay for your passage as we that stay do not want to die in a coward's pressence.  No, don't wish for any more men my countrymen as you should not want to share the honor we earn today.  From this day forward on every St. Crispian's day we that fought will be able to stand tall and proud and say 'Yes, we are the bad asses that overcame the odds and won the field of battle while the rest of you punks stayed safe in your homes.'  Then, after your deaths you shall be remembered in stories until the end of time.  My friends, my equals, do not wish one man extra to take away from the glory you shall earn today."

I had the opportunity to study the Battle of Agincourt while an undergraduate and it is a very interesting example of how tactics and choosing where to fight can overcome deficiencies like numbers and armament.  The English won the battle both in the play and in reality but whether Henry gave a speech to his troops at the real battle or not is questionable at best and it is unlikely to have been anything to equal Shakespeare's dramatized version.  I am certain, however, that the men that fought that day went to their death beds knowing they accomplished the impossible that day.  I don't know if that was any consolation to the soldiers that had been pressed into service, but I am sure the nobles talked about it for the rest of their lives.  If you are interested in this battle and a few other famous battles I suggest "The Face of Battle" by John Keegan.

This speech is easily my most favorite passage in all of literature.  I am wondering, what other passages raise the hairs on the back of your neck?

*****Update*****
I found this clip from Kenneth Branagh's Henry V.  I don't particularly like the delivery and certainly don't like the background music, but I thought it might be good to share anyway.  Note a young Bruce Wayne in the clip as well.

 

I know what you are thinking. That's not nice you know. Not only that, but you seem to have the wrong idea about me. The "adult entertainment" I speak of is not the late night hotel spanktravision variety. It is the cultured, well rounded, intellectual kind. You really should be ashamed of yourself.

Yes constant reader (don't you just love how I completely rip off writers like Stephen King), today I speak of going to the theater or at least as close as we southerners can get to such things.

Yesterday I decided, quite spur-of-the-moment, to take my wife out for the evening. My first thought was to catch a movie, but there is nothing worth watching right now so that option was immediately scrapped. I then looked to see if there was anything else going on locally and quickly found that Wednesday didn't seem to be a real exciting evening in the Birmingham area. At that point I realized that maybe, just maybe we could make it to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery by show time. I checked and sure enough there was a production going on at 7:30 of "Man of La Mancha". Oh lucky day. If I left work an hour early and dropped Emily off at a friends house shortly after I got home we would just make the curtain so I called up the wife and revealed my plan. She was agreeable to the idea, lined up the babysitter, and cleared me to buy the tickets. By 7:00 we were in the theater ready for a night of enjoyable entertainment.

This was a big deal for us. We haven't been out like that in a while. Sure we have managed to go to the movies together a few times, but last night we were an hour and a half away from our daughter attending a show which did not include other patrons talking about last weekend's kegger and the hot Delta Gamma chicks that showed up to do body shots on the deck. Normally when we go out, the experience is ruined by the rudeness of the great unwashed. Not this time though. No, this was an award winning musical watched by an audience who knew how to behave in public. It was a great experience and one which I have missed these last few years.

My only regret is that Shakespeare was not on the menu last night. You see, I have seen "Man of La Mancha" many times. Many, many times. When I was just a wee college student I served as a member of a volunteer organization at UAB. One of our jobs was to act as usher's at what was then called the Town and Gown Theater. It has since moved from its old location off of Highland Avenue and I no longer know if the productions still go on at the Alys Stephens Center, but that is not part of this story. Anyway, one year the theater company produced the previously mentioned musical. I, therefore, sat through it many times. Out of all of the productions I attended, that one is the only one I really remember. I am sure the other productions were great, but I only have strong memories of "Man of La Mancha". Plus, I am not big on musicals, but those seem to be more popular to the general public so they are more often produced and Town and Gown was no different. There were many musicals but I have forgotten every one, except that one which you are reading about today. Therefore, seeing it again these many years later was not as thrilling as seeing something new. However, I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone.

However, if you ever get a chance to go and see a Shakespeare production at the Festival, don't pass it up. They do an excellent job there and everyone should see at least one of the bard's plays in their lifetime. There is something special about Shakespeare. I don't know if it is the near poetry of the words or the timeliness of the themes, but I am always engaged when watching Shakespeare. I can't always say that about other forms of theater. Whatever it is, I know I enjoy it, even when I don't exactly understand it. "Twelfth Night" starts later this month. Maybe I can finagle a way to get back down to Montgomery to see that one as well. I have never seen that particular play and I certainly would not like to pass up the opportunity if it presents itself. We shall see how the future plays out.

And now my friends I must return to the machinations of my daily existence. Until next time I say goodbye.

"Party on dudes!"