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• Richard III
• Henry IV part I
• Henry V
• Other histories

In the histories, Shakespeare takes stories and famous people his audience would have known about – the kings and queens of English history – and brings them to vivid life. He also mixes in a variety of invented characters, most notably Falstaff, the famous “fat knight” and “corrupter” of young Prince Hal in the “Henry IV” plays.

These plays can be dense and bewildering if you’re not familiar with English history. But the fun thing about them is that they are like a field of fresh-fallen snow for many audiences – few people have read or seen them.

For a group of self-starters, one of these plays can provide plenty of material for exploration, and have the additional effect of revealing a whole new dimension of Shakespeare to the students. One downside is the predominance of male parts. Girls or young women can play any these roles, but most of these stories deal with the male culture of war in the medieval period, so you’ll need a group that can throw itself into that world with gusto.

In general, we recommend saving these plays for students in grades 6 and up, or choosing only a few scenes from them for performance work.

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Richard III

Shakespeare’s most famous villain puts on quite a performance in this early play. It’s a fascinating character study and a great lesson in the soliloquy, where a character speaks directly to the audience. Beginning with the famous opening lines of “Now is the winter of our discontent,” Richard takes the audience on a wild ride as he kills and manipulates his way to the top.

There are two excellent films of this play – one with Laurence Olivier, the other with Ian McKellan – as well as Al Pacino’s “Looking for Richard.” So there are plenty of resources to focus on the performance aspects of the work. Again, for mature students only.

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Henry IV part I

We include this play mostly for the wonderful scenes with Falstaff. Recognized by many critics as Shakespeare’s most amazing creation, Falstaff is a comic tornado, taking over ever scene in which he enters. The Falstaff of this play, and of Henry IV part II, is not to be confused with the later, somewhat diminished Falstaff of The Merry Wives of Windsor. This “plump Jack” is the real thing, and a wonderful opportunity for role-playing by students.

Like Richard III, this is a play to dip into for new discoveries. Once you get the kids hooked on Falstaff (have a few big pillows handy for stuffing under shirts), they’ll be eager for more.

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Henry V

A critical debate has long raged about whether this play is a jingoistic celebration of an English wartime hero or a more critical analysis of one. Professional performances have focused on both interpretations. Regardless, there are some wonderful things in this play for young students to investigate.

The first thing is the opening prologue, which beautifully expresses the nature of the relationship between players and audience in Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. “Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them, printing their proud hoofs in th’ receiving earth,” the Prologue implores. He asks the audience to “let us… on your imaginary forces work.” It’s an invitation to join in an active use of the imagination.

This play is too unwieldy to be successfully performed by young children, though we’ve seen it done in England (not too memorably). It is best sampled for specific moments and speeches.

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Other histories

Richard II has gorgeous, intricate speeches from the king, while the Henry VI trilogy, one of the first things Shakespeare wrote, has a raw, almost reckless energy that is fascinating to dive into. King John and Henry VIII are among the most rarely performed of Shakespeare’s plays but still have moments of perfection.

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