YORK Shakespeare Project's promenade production of William Shakespeare's final play, Henry VIII, offers the chance to walk in the footsteps of the Tudor king at King's Manor, York, from Thursday to Saturday.

The real Henry VIII – known as Bluff King Hal or Coppernosed Harry but probably not to his face – spent time at King's Manor when visiting York in 1541, hence director Ben Prusiner's choice of location for YSP's follow-up to Prusiner's King Lear last autumn.

Henry VIII was co-written by Shakespeare and his successor as the playwright for The King's Men, John Fletcher. "I was very pleased to be asked back to direct this production because I'm a big fan of John Fletcher," says Ben, an American director and academic now living in York.

"There's lots we don't know but it appears they wrote it in collaboration, the authorship changing from scene to scene. We don't know precisely who wrote which scene, but we have a pretty good idea from the spelling and the verse structure and things like Fletcher using "ye" rather than you.

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Director Ben Prusiner

"You can tell their distinctive styles: Fletcher has an earthy, bawdy energy; his writing is very invigorating, and there are some wonderful scenes in this play that appear to be Fletcher's that are a draw, not a drawback.

 "In his time, Fletcher was quite a feminist playwright, and it's fascinating that this play has a powerful female character, Queen Katherine [of Aragon], who was besieged by powerful men, most notably Cardinal Wolsey. The focus of the play is Katherine's fall, orchestrated by Wolsey, and the King's infatuation with Ann Boleyn."

Shakespeare and Fletcher collaborated on three plays. "They co-wrote three plays: All Is True, later re-named Henry VIII; The Noble Kinsman, which comes up on the YSP's calendar in a year or so; and Cardenio, the "lost play of Shakespeare", from which we think a ballad survives, but the play's manuscript was stored in the Covent Garden Playhouse Museum that burned down in 1808," says Ben.

All Is True/HenryVIII was somewhat ill-fated too. "It would appear to be Shakespeare's last play and we know it dates from 1613 as it was the play that burned down the Globe theatre that year. In a banquet scene, a canon is fired as Henry VIII enters, and unfortunately a spark landed on the thatch.

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Almaz Rish, left, Martina Meyer and William Darwin in rehearsals for Henry VIII

"No-one was harmed in the fire, but one man had his breeches singed...and put that out with a bottle of ale," says Ben. "So you could say Shakespeare went out with a bang! We know all this from first-hand accounts, which is why we know the play was called All Is True."

Not only will Henry VIII be staged by YSP as a promenade production, but there will be (optional) audience interaction too, such as learning a Tudor dance and participating in a coronation.

"They can also learn the King's favourite card game, Primero, an Italian game where the face cards have the lowest value, and so the King had the lowest value of all, which he liked," says Ben.

"Our two dramaturgs, Amanda Pitts and university student Rachel Astall, have been researching Primero, and there are various reconstructions of how the game was played, so now the audience can learn it before the performance."

Prusiner's cast will promenade from room to room at King's Manor, and the most significant among them will be the Huntingdon Room. "There's a thought that Henry VIII might have slept in there in 1541," says Ben. "He certainly passed through that room, as he set up King's Manor to assemble his Council of the North." 

You may have noted that this week's three-day run is much shorter than usual for a YSP production. "We prioritised having the play at King's Manor over having a longer run: King's Manor's connection with the real Henry VIII was just too delicious to pass up," says Ben.

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The poster for Re:Verse Theatre's Volpone

Looking ahead, Prusiner's own company, Re:verse Theatre, will stage a Fringe production of Ben Jonson's 1606 comedy Volpone, or Out-Foxed,  at the Rowntree Park Amphitheatre, York, from May 15 to 17 at 7pm and on May 20 and 21 at 3pm and 7pm.

"A boisterous satire by Shakespeare's friend and rival, Ben Jonson, this animal fable for grown-ups is filled with larger-than-life masked con artists on the prowl," says Ben. "With live music, a gargantuan three-headed judge, and outrageous costumes inspired by commedia dell'arte and Venetian carnival, Jonson's masterpiece will be brought to life in a riotous outdoor production.

"This is a play about greed, but also about being conned by the most blatant liars. In light of recent political events, we have to ask ourselves how we can be so easily seduced. Laugh along and discover if the characters remind you of anyone you might know."

Prusiner originally formed his company in New York, and Volpone will be Re:Verse Theatre's debut British production, staged as part of the 2nd International York Shakespeare Festival.

In addition to the 3pm and 7pm shows, Re:Verse will stage pop-up performances of scenes from Jonson's play in King's Square from noon to 1.30pm throughout the festival.

York Shakespeare Project presents Shakespeare's Henry VIII at King's Manor, Exhibition Square, York, March 30 to April 1, 7pm plus 3pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568, at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or on the door.