The Hollow Crown: Henry IV: Part 2, BBC Two, review – from The Telegraph
The Hollow Crown: Henry IV Part 2, BBC Two
Irons’s ailing king steals Shakespearean diptych – from The Arts Desk
The Hollow Crown: Henry IV Part 2 continued the series in brilliant fashion – from Metro.co.uk
Review: The Hollow Crown – Henry IV Part 2 – from The Yorker
The Hollow Crown, Henry IV Part Two. B.B.C. Television Review – from LS Media – The Independent Liverpool Student Newspaper
Filming is underway on Henry IV
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Production on Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 has begun. A cast read-through took place the first week of January. Filming began on the 9th and will last nine weeks for both films. Locations include Caerphilly Castle in Wales, which is apparently being used as the site of Hotspur’s meeting with Owen Glendower. Filming also took place at Ashridge.
Filming will take place at Gloucester Cathedral from 25 January, for about two weeks.
In February, filming moves to Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire.
From the official BBC Press Release:
Continuing with the incredibly high standard set by Richard II, Jeremy Irons plays the role of King Henry IV in this production adapted and directed by Richard Eyre. Tom Hiddleston joins the cast as Prince Hal, Simon Russell Beale plays Falstaff and Alun Armstrong plays the Earl of Northumberland. Lady Northumberland is played by Niamh Cusack with Hotspur played by Joe Armstrong.
As with Richard II and Henry V, these bold adaptations are set in the medieval period and are being shot at some of the UK’s most stunning locations. The films will bring a new scale to Shakespeare in one of the most ambitious television projects of recent years.
Henry IV, Part 1 is expected to air on BBC2 in the summer of 2012 along with the other three films in the series: Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V. The four films will also be shown in the U.S. on Great Performances on PBS.
From the BBC Media Centre:
The definitive cast list for the BBC Two Shakespeare films including Henry IV (Parts I and II) has been confirmed.
Featuring some of the greatest Shakespearean actors and directors of our time, four films have been commissioned by BBC Two for their Shakespeare season in 2012 as part of the BBC’s contribution to the London 2012 Festival and the Cultural Olympiad. The films were commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller BBC Drama Commissioning and Janice Hadlow, Controller BBC Two.
Set in the medieval period, these bold adaptations of four of Shakespeare’s most acclaimed history plays will produce some of the most ambitious television of recent years. As principal photography begins on Henry V, the previously announced Kings – Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston – will be joined by a phenomenal ensemble cast.
Ben Whishaw said: “Playing Richard II has been a hugely rewarding experience. Working on this beautiful play with Rupert Goold and an amazing cast has been one of the most magical and memorable experiences of my career.”
Jeremy Irons said: “I am most grateful to have this opportunity of returning to Shakespeare, to film under the experienced eye of Richard Eyre, alongside such exciting actors.”
Tom Hiddleston said: “I am incredibly proud and privileged to be playing Prince Hal and Henry V in these new adaptations. He was one of England’s great kings and one of Shakespeare’s great men, and it is an extraordinary honour to have been asked to play him. I will be steeped in mud, blood, and warrior poetry for the next four months, led by two of the greatest directors working today, alongside a group of actors I have admired and respected all my life. I can’t wait.”
Henry IV (Parts I and II)
The second and third films will see Jeremy Irons (The Borgias) playing Henry IV, supported by Tom Hiddleston (Thor) as Prince Hal. Simon Russell Beale (Spooks) will play Falstaff and Julie Walters (Mamma Mia, Mo) will play Mistress Quickly. Hotspur will be played by Joe Armstrong (Robin Hood) and Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) is to play Lady Percy alongside Maxine Peake (Criminal Justice) as Doll Tearsheet. Lady Northumberland will be played by Niamh Cusack (A Touch of Frost) with Alun Armstrong (New Tricks) as Northumberland. Reece Shearsmith (The League Of Gentlemen) will play the role of Davy, Tom Georgeson (Notes on a Scandal) will play Bardolph, Pistol will be played by Paul Ritter (Friday Night Dinner) and Douglas Henshall (South Riding) will play Mowbray. Iain Glen (Downton Abbey) will play Warwick and Geoffrey Palmer (As Time Goes By) will play Lord Chief Justice.
Completing the confirmed cast of Henry IV are Henry Faber, James Laurenson, David Hayman, Robert Pugh, Alex Clatworthy, Stephen McCole, David Dawson, Ian Conningham and Nick Jones.
Henry IV Production Designer is Donal Woods (Downton Abbey, Cranford). Director of Photography is Ben Smithard (Cranford) with Annie Symons (Gideon’s Daughter, The Crimson Petal and the White) as Costume Designer.
Henry IV is directed and adapted for the screen by Richard Eyre (Notes on a Scandal, Iris). Filming on Henry IV will begin in January 2012.
Jeremy Irons is set to film Shakespeare’s Henry IV, parts 1 and 2, as part of the BBC’s 2012 Shakespeare Season, directed by Richard Eyre.
Irons will feature alongside Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal and Simon Russell Beale as Falstaff in Henry IV. Hiddleston will then take the lead role in Henry V, which along with Richard II forms part of the BBC cycle of Shakespeare’s history plays to be broadcast in 2012.
Henry IV will be directed by Sir Richard Eyre, the former director of the National Theatre, with Thea Sharrock taking directing duties on Henry V, which goes into production later this year. Henry IV is due to begin filming in January.
Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes has also signed up to helm four new versions of Shakespeare’s history plays for the BBC, it has been announced.
Mendes will be executive producer of Richard II, Henry IV parts I and II, and Henry V as part of a special season devoted to the Bard planned for 2012. They will be shown on BBC2.
The BBC’s 2012 Shakespeare season will be produced by Neal Street Productions with American partners NBC Universal and WNET.
Involving some of the most pre-eminent Shakespearian actors and directors of our time, the films will consist of bold adaptations of Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II and Henry V, set in the Medieval period and filmed on locations around the UK and Europe. These four films will be linked to the Cultural Olympiad of 2012.
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More details from the Daily Mail:
Producers will be Rupert Ryle Hodges and executive producers Gareth Neame, Pippa Harris and Sam Mendes.
Julie Walters is in discussions to pull a pint or two as landlady of the infamous Boar’s Head Tavern.
Richard Eyre and Thea Sharrock would like the actress to play Mistress Quickly in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 and Henry V, all of which are being filmed for BBC2 to be screened as part of next year’s cultural Olympiad.
The award-winning Ms Walters has agreed to do the project, but it’s a question of making the filming dates work.
Michelle Dockery, who has found much-deserved fame as Lady Mary in Downton Abbey, is being approached about playing Lady Percy, Hotspur’s wife, in the Henry IV films.
Joe Armstrong is in negotiations to play Hotspur, and there’s a plan afoot to try to get his father Alun Armstrong to play the Duke of Northumberland — Hotspur’s father. As I told you a while back, Tom Hiddleston is playing Prince Hal, in the two Henry IV dramas, and Henry V.
Richard Eyre will direct the Henry IV films (more than four hours of drama in total).
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