"and the weather, and the wars, and the King..."

Easter holidays and so back in Stratford very briefly this week to see Henry V  and check out the changes to the Swan gallery exhibition, which reopened a couple of weeks ago.  

There'd been several major changes of costume since my last visit and I was eager to see if they'd changed the contents of the Benson cabinet. Delighted to see this dress, which is also mentioned in M.R. Holmes' catalogue:

Dress of grey velvet powdered with small stars and with extensions of black velvet on border of skirt and  ends of hanging sleeves. Close set-in sleeves of black velvet with white cuffs. Applique girdle of bright steel beads with effect of ends hanging down the front,  Hanging sleeves lined with silver, and applique ornaments of purple and green velvet on silver on hanging sleeves and low on front and back of skirt.

(M.R. Holmes, London Museum Stage Costumes and Accessories, HMSO, 1968)

My photographs were taken on a very sunny day so there's lots of glare from the Benson window and from a video screen directly opposite the cabinet.  In the lighting of the gallery, the black velvet elements had a blue tone.

This is probably the only extant Benson costume that can actually be seen 'in action' - the BFI website has the 1912 Richard III film available for free viewing Watch Richard III online - BFI Player  Lady Anne appears from around 4:14  in what is clearly the same costume.  Its different elements work better on stage than in the static case, where it is difficult to see details of the hanging sleeves and the train.  The steel beads clearly provided weight which allows the sleeves and hem to move in a specific way, and Constance makes the most of the that movement in the film.  The volume of fabric is also noticeable.

One thing that struck me with this costume was the element of make do and mend: the cuffs, for example, appear to have been loosely tacked on to the sleeves and the appliqued decoration is clumsily done. It is also a very recognisable Art Nouveau motif, reminiscent of embroideries from the Glasgow School of Art, rather than being something of the period.

As can be seen from the film and in the screenshot below, there would have been a collar, probably of the same fabric as the sleeves, covering over the bodice of the dress as well as a wide headdress.  The label dated this as 1901 - post-fire.  I did wonder whether it had been altered and pressed into action as a replacement.

The sheer volume of fabric in these costumes and the weight of them makes me think again of the issues involved in transporting these baskets of costumes across the country. 

Stratford was basking in summer temperatures on Wednesday and was crammed with visitors enjoying the unseasonable weather.  By Thursday it was back to grey skies and, when I got to Birmingham, something rather like a mini cyclone in New Street.  By the time I reached Newcastle last night the temperature had dropped considerably.  

I spent Thursday morning in the Shakespeare Institute Library, making notes from several books I'd earmarked before going down, and managed a quick visit to the Shakespeare Hospice Bookshop where one of the two books I'd not bought in February was still there - the better of the two, I think, with lots of images from the Mander and Mitchinson collection. 

I greatly enjoyed Henry V although I did feel the lack of Henry IV parts 1 and 2 to establish some of the impact of the minor characters. The extrapolated opening scene - Hal's taking of the crown from the death bed of his father from H IV pt 2 - was entirely missing the heart it ought to have and was played almost flippantly, although it was made clear by the ending why it had been used.  Alfred Enoch was excellent as was the ensembles use of the set, which was reminiscent  of the ESC's scaffolding for The Henries in 1985 crossed with the Barricades in Les Miserables. The battle scenes were choreographic and the speed and precision of their execution was impressive.  No one, perhaps needless to say, pole-vaulted into Harfleur... but there was a goodly cast of local supernumeries!

I don't have tickets to see Kenneth Branagh in The Tempest, having refused to jump on that particular 'membership' bandwagon when the booking opened last year, and the RSC seems to be boycotting Shakespeare in favour of Game of Thrones this summer, and, inexplicably,  has nothing at all scheduled for September so I don't know when I'll next be back.  I miss the 'good old days' of the extended repertory season - I'd have liked to seen how this Henry developed after four or five months, not after a couple of weeks.  I understand the reasons behind it, but the theatre was not full on Wednesday - and Stratford had been packed all day.  How do you get some of those people through the theatre doors and into the vacant seats?  Just by short runs, 'star casting' and TV tie-ins? 

I hope there's a longer term plan for the company which addresses the potential of the visiting audience. Three years ago. I was able to see four productions in four days... An extended rep has its own issues, but surely if you can entice people to stay and see more than one play that has to be useful and not including any Shakespeare apart from a cut-down version of Midsummer Nights Dream for the full summer seems to be a real mistake.  There's a reason why 'Shakespeare' is in the title of the Company, after all.  I can't help feeling the Flowers would be rather disappointed.