This England never did, nor never shall,
Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror,
But when it first did help to wound itself.
Shakespeare’s Wars of the Roses plays heat up with an action-packed and popular play!
There’s clearly a running theme through the history plays of England being its own worst enemy. In the quote above, Philip Falconbridge points out that England only succumbs to enemies after first inflicting injuries to itself. That’s never more true than through the second Henriad, where we watch the kingdom descend into chaos and in-fighting through the Wars of the Roses period. Two houses, the House of Lancasters and the House of York.
This play starts where the 1 Henry VI left off, with Henry’s marriage to Margaret of Anjou, but then, it takes a wild road to the first real conflict between Richard of York and Henry VI. In the process, we’ll see a showdown between two firey and powerful women, a ghost summoning, a fake miracle exposé, political backstabbing and assassination, surprise pirates with murderous intent, a queen having a tête-a-tête with her boyfriend’s severed head, a rebellion, heads on poles, garden fight scenes, and more! I always forget how much this play contains; it’s packed from start to finish!
Sit back and enjoy this crazy play with so many fantastic moments! While you’re at it, check out our conversation on YouTube, or my earlier summary discussion of the play (which includes my singing Celine Dion badly in honor of the relationship between Margaret and Suffolk).
