From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a fresh new edition of Shakespeare's tragi-comedy of youth and age, introducing the immortal Sir John Falstaff

THIS EDITION INCLUDES:
• An illuminating introduction to Henry IV Part I by award-winning scholar Jonathan Bate
• The play - with clear and authoritative explanatory notes on each page
• A helpful scene-by-scene analysis and key facts about the play
• An introduction to Shakespeare's career and the Elizabethan theatre
• A rich exploration of approaches to staging the play featuring photographs of key productions

The most enjoyable way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or participate in it. This unique edition presents a historical overview of Henry IV Part I in performance, recommends film versions, takes a detailed look at specific productions and includes interviews with two leading directors and an actor– Michael Boyd, Adrian Noble and Michael Pennington – so that we may get a sense of the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible, a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made 'our contemporary' four centuries after his death.

Ideal for students, theatre-goers, actors and general readers, the RSC Shakespeare editions offer an accessible and contemporary approach to reading and rediscovering Shakespeare's works for the twenty-first century.