The Hollow Crown: The War of The Roses Part 1 Reviewed

The Hollow Crown follows up their original 2012 trilogy with the next three Shakespeare plays in the tetralogy, under the title “The Wars of The Roses.”

How does one recap Shakespeare? Such a thing seems a fool’s errand, like attempting to recap a performance of the early chapters of Genesis at Christmas, or The Passion at Easter. It’s not like we didn’t already know what would happen, or how it would end.

"Henry VI: O what a scandal it is to our crown / That two such noble peers as ye should jar! / Believe me, lords, my tender years can tell / Civil dissension is a viperous worm / That gnaws at the bowels of the commonwealth."

Shakespeare’s histories have this from both directions, being both famous plays performed hundreds of times over the centuries, as well as being taken from the pages of history books. Game of Thrones nerds might suspect, having seen the “Shakespearean play” version of the Histories of Westeros this past season played out on the streets of Braavos, that the histories Shakespeare may indeed bear as little resemblance to the actual historical details as “The Bloody Hand” did to Game of Thrones Season 1. But 400 years after they were written, and 600 years after the actual events, these plays, which were the History Channel specials of their time, are how most people assume things went down.

So, with the assumption that most people know the general outline of the histories in question, or at least that Henry VI, who stars as the titular king of Parts 1 and 2 of this trilogy, will not be king anymore by the time we get to Part 3’s Richard III, the question becomes one of judging performances and production choices. The first trilogy was a monster hit, not only due to Tom Hiddleston in the role of Prince Hal, and then later as Henry V in the most famous of those three plays, but also Ben Whishaw, who single-handedly revived the RSC doing performances of Richard II. His performance was not only a revelation as an actor, but made the role of the too-young, too-sheltered monarch one that was accessible and understandable to modern audiences.

Image via BBC

That performance informs the one given by Tom Sturridge in an eerily-similar role. If there is an underlying theme running through these six plays, it is how much the monarchy can be emotionally destructive to the person in the center of it. The Crown worked to foreground this on Netflix last month, taking care to emphasize that when Elizabeth II was anointed, she was made “a goddess on earth” in the words of the abdicated Edward VIII. However, Netflix explored introducing us to a girl of 18 as she first learned to navigate the throne. The Hollow Crown appears to be more interested in us meeting someone at 18 who has spent their entire lives told that’s what they are.

"Talbot: My thoughts are whirled like a potter’s wheel; / I know not where I am, nor what I do."

These outside assists help Sturridge along. That’s good, because left on his own, he is no Whishaw. His vaguely muddled performance only adds to the vaguely muddled world around him as we struggle to keep his constantly arguing Dukes straight: Gloucester, Somerset, Suffolk, York, Lancaster and all the rest. It’s almost a relief when they start wearing red and white roses, so at least we can remember which one is on which team.

Image via BBC

But as with a power vacuum, someone must step in to fill the space, so too must that happen in an acting vacuum. With Benedict Cumberbatch’s arrival as Richard on hold until Part 2, the divinely superb Sophie Okonedo as Margaret takes that space and runs with it. She proves to be as conniving, as power hungry and as ruthless as any villain. The moment she walks on screen, as Margaret of Anjou, the younger daughter of the so called “King of Naples” overthrown by the English, hungry for a ticket out of defeat, she walks away with the piece. Her budding affair with Somerset, even as she wraps Henry around her finger, is a sight to behold. Her defeat of Gloucester via his wife is one of the most memorable set pieces of the evening.

"Suffolk: She’s beautiful, and therefore to be wooed; / She is a woman, therefore to be won."

The other major performance of the evening goes to the other leading woman: Laura Frances-Morgan as Joan of Arc. Usually a bit of a thankless role, the crazy woman burned at the stake quickly so we can get on with it, Frances-Morgan halts everything with her magnetism and her inner fire (no pun intended.) Even in this condensed version of Henry VI Part 1 (because they need to squeeze all three parts into two), she turns the role into one on par with Ophelia, another crazed and doomed heroine.

Image via BBC

Henry VI is not one of the Shakespearean plays done that often, partly because of the length of it. (Three three-hour plays requires a huge commitment.) Moreover, Henry VI Part 3 is the most ambitious play Shakespeare ever wrote, with no less than four battles as part of the action, and the longest soliloquy in all of his writings. If the battles we see in the first half are any indication, next week will be some of the bloodiest Shakespeare to date put on screen, perhaps another nod to Game of Thrones‘ influence reflected back on the War of the Roses source material from whence it sprang.

"Bedford: And I have heard it said, unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone."

In their attempt to condense these down into two four-hour episodes, we end Part 1 somewhere just short of the halfway mark of Henry VI Part 2. The production does their best not to let us feel as if we have ended ourselves in a middle spot, tacking on an extra scene with Adrian Dunbar (Richard, Duke of York) running home to announce the civil war has begun, and for sons Edward (later Edward IV) and Richard to come along. It then cuts away to the unmistakable figure of Cumberbatch, stumping along towards us, the oncoming storm.

Next week, Henry VI Part 2 sets the stage as we watch the fall of the King, the rise of Edward IV, and set the table for the ever-popular Richard III.

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