Back in the day, when I didn’t look much like the bard, Bobbie and I were partial to a bit of Shakespeare.
This sounded like the real deal, with Robert Stephens as Falstaff and Michael Maloney as Hal. A little-known (at that time) actress Linda Bassett played Mistress Quickly and Adrian Noble directed the thing.
Besides, I had studied Henry IV Part One for my English ‘O’ Level, so obviously I knew what I was talking about.
Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for Henry IV Part One – which we saw on Friday 27 September.
My log for Henry IV Part One reads:
Back-aching but worth it
Whereas for Henry IV Part Two, which we saw on Saturday 28 September, it reads:
Seriously back-aching but still worth it
Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for Henry IV Part Two.
Both plays were long – hence the back ache. I was still suffering the aftermath of my multiple lower back disc prolapses the previous year.
They were very good productions though.
Below is Michael Coveney’s Observer review of Henry IV Part One:
Coveney on Henry IV Part One Sun, Apr 21, 1991 – 56 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
Below is Michael Billington’s take on Part One in the Guardian
Billington on Henry IV Part One Thu, Apr 18, 1991 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
Below is Kate Kellaway’s Observer review of Part Two
Kate Kellaway on Henry Part Two Sun, Jun 2, 1991 – 72 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
Here’s Michael Billington in The Guardian ecstatic about the pair after seeing Part Two
Billington On Part Two Sat, Jun 1, 1991 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
We stayed in an unmemorable B&B on the edge of town. I vaguely recall a bossy (i.e. rule-laden) owner.
I think we ate good food. Fatty Arbuckle’s or Lambs, and then The Glory Hole, if I recall correctly. I’m pretty sure the latter on the Saturday night because Henry IV Part Two was so darned, back-achingly long, there was only one eatery in Stratford open that late in those days.
We suffered for our art, going to Stratford, back then.