Montana Shakespeare in the Parks

Monday, August 05, 2013 - Tuesday, August 06, 2013

August 5: Henry V

August 6: The Recruiting Officer

Henry V



The political situation in England is tense: King Henry IV has died, and his son, the young King Henry V, has just assumed the throne. Furthermore, in order to gain the respect of the English people and the court, Henry must live down his wild adolescent past, when he used to consort with thieves and drunkards at the Boar's Head Tavern on the seedy side of London.

Henry lays claim to certain parts of France. When the young prince, or Dauphin, of France sends Henry an insulting message in response to these claims, Henry decides to invade France.

The Recruiting Officer

The play opens with the recruiter, Captain Plume's Sergeant Kite, recruiting in the town of Shrewbury. Plume arrives, in love with Sylvia, closely followed by Worthy, a local gentleman who is in love with Sylvia's cousin Melinda. Melinda was about to marry Worthy a year previously but then changed her mind after coming into an inheritance of £20,000 and it seems to Worthy that she is now welcoming the attentions of Captain Brazen, another recruiter - actually, however, Melinda's maid Lucy is responding to Brazen's advances under the guise of being Melinda, hoping to marry him herself. This leads Melinda and Sylvia to argue and part.