Shakespeare Dallas has launched a new opportunity for our audiences to meet and discuss Shakespeare’s plays. Ever wonder how an acting company prepares to stage a Shakespeare play? What method of text analysis and discussion take place in the rehearsal hall to allow an actor to perform a Shakespearean role to the best of their ability? If you missed out on our previous book clubs, you are invited to experience that process at our book clubs for Shakespeare’s Henriad.

Shakespeare’s Henriad spans four plays including Richard II, through Henry IV, Parts I & II, and Henry V. The Henriad is William Shakespeare’s finest achievement as a political writer, and exemplifies his talent for depicting matters of state. Taken together, these works offer a strikingly intimate portrait of power itself, especially in the portrayal of Prince Hal (later King Henry V), the cycle’s central figure. The plays are especially good at revealing the theatrical dimensions of politics and diplomacy, and the tension that sometimes emerges between leaders’ private motivations and their public personas. The Henriad plays are a contemplation of power and leadership—how they are acquired, maintained, and lost. The sweeping saga takes the audience through the destabilizing effects of Richard II’s overthrow and abdication to the unsteady rise of Henry V. A host of historical and fictional characters—both high- and low-born—revolve around the monarchs in shifting alliances.

Led by Artistic Associate Jenni Stewart and actor/scholar T.A. Taylor, Book Club gatherings are comfortable, fun and promise great discussions.