Henry VI, Part 2

About this book

Henry VI, Part 2 or The Second Part of Henry the Sixth (often written as 2 Henry VI) is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas 1 Henry VI deals primarily with the loss of England's French territories and the political machinations leading up to the Wars of the Roses, and 3 Henry VI deals with the horrors of that conflict, 2 Henry VI focuses on the King's inability to quell the bickering of his nobles, the death of his trusted adviser Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, the rise of the Duke of York and the inevitability of armed conflict. As such, the play culminates with the opening battle of the War, the First Battle of St Albans. Henry VI may be viewed as a study in insurrection, which moves from the private and personal jostlings in the court in Part 1 to outright civil war in Part 3. In Part 2 the discord between prominent state officials, notably Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, spreads to the common people, fomenting an abortive rebellion, lead by the rascally Kentishman, Jack Cade. With the death of Humphrey, the period of regency for the naive Henry effectively comes to an end, and the unworldly monarch is helplessly exposed to the interminable strife between the factions of the houses of York and of Lancaster. The structure of the play differs from the other two parts in that there is a central rustic idyll (Act 4), populated by clownish characters, which recalls the idyllic centrepieces of comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It. The plays with the effective deposition of Henry, who is later re-installed as king in Part 3 by the influential Earl of Warwick. Henry VI, Part 2 has the largest cast of all Shakespeare's plays, and is seen by many critics as the best of the Henry VI trilogy. (Summary by Wikipedia and Algy Pug) Cast:Alexander Iden/Lord Say: amicrazy2uBeadle/Earl of Warwick/First Neighbor/George Bevis/Lord Scales/Post/Second Gentleman/Soldier/Spirit: Algy PugBolingbroke/Jack Cade: Martin GeesonCaptain/Herald/Simpcox: Sandra GClerk of Chatham/First Citizen/Messenger/Queen Margaret: Elizabeth KlettDick the Butcher/Mayor of St. Albans: JimOCRDuke of Buckingham/Richard Plantagenet the Younger: Lars RolanderDuke of Gloucester: Sean RandallDuke of Somerset: ReadalotEarl of Salisbury: Michael IrskensEarl of Suffolk: Frank BookerEleanor, Duchess of Gloucester: Musicalheart1Father John Hume: Christine BlachfordFirst Gentleman/Second Murderer/Second Petitioner/Townsman: David LawrenceFirst Murderer: rigbyjmFirst Petitioner/Third Neighbor/William Stafford: John FrickerHenry VI: Arielle LipshawJohn Holland/Peter: Denny SayersKing Edward IV/Thomas Horner/Walter Whitmore: Dale BurgessLord Clifford/Second Neighbor: Aidan BrackMargaret Jourdain: Nadine Eckert-BouletMaster/Sheriff: kenrgMichael: Bruce PirieRichard Plantagenet/Smith the Weaver: David GoldfarbServant/Vaux: EdenSimpcox's Wife: Lucy PerrySir Humphrey Stafford: Ric FSir John Stanley: VeggrowerWinchester: Jason MillsYoung Clifford: Amy GramourNarrator: Roseanne SchmidtAudio edited by: Elizabeth Klett