Henry VI (Peter Benson) has successfully overcome Joan La Pucelle but his marriage to the ferocious Queen Margaret of Naples (Julia Foster) has effectively given France back to the French and undone his father's conquest. Furthermore, civil strife brews as the scheming Duke of York (Bernard Hill) sets the ferocious Jack Cade (Trevor Peacock) upon the King as he sets up his bid to take the crown himself...
The sets grow ever darker and the battles ever bloodier, with heads on pikes this time round and other gory deaths. England is headed straight to hell in hand basket and the actors revel in the story and the language.
Peter Benson makes an excellent Henry VI, his gentle and frail appearance effectively conveying the monarch's powerlessness. Trevor Peacock, who played Talbot in Part One, makes for a ferocious Jack Cade and the scenes where he commands the masses to rebel are among the most stirring in these plays. Bernard Hill continues to impress as York, and also of note are Brian Protheroe as his eldest son Edward and Ron Cook making his first appearance as the hunchbacked youngest son, Richard...
Despite the usual longueurs, it is worthily staged and well performed.
The sets grow ever darker and the battles ever bloodier, with heads on pikes this time round and other gory deaths. England is headed straight to hell in hand basket and the actors revel in the story and the language.
Peter Benson makes an excellent Henry VI, his gentle and frail appearance effectively conveying the monarch's powerlessness. Trevor Peacock, who played Talbot in Part One, makes for a ferocious Jack Cade and the scenes where he commands the masses to rebel are among the most stirring in these plays. Bernard Hill continues to impress as York, and also of note are Brian Protheroe as his eldest son Edward and Ron Cook making his first appearance as the hunchbacked youngest son, Richard...
Despite the usual longueurs, it is worthily staged and well performed.