Jenny-Rose Morrison is a third-year student at York St John University studying Creative Writing. They have been involved with the York International Shakespeare Festival and various university drama societies throughout their time at YSJ and co-founded the YSJ Shakespeare Society. This year, they are Stage Manager for the York Shakespeare Project production of the condensed Henry VI, working closely with visiting international director, Irwin Appel, professor at UC Santa Barbara Theatre/Dance.
Although the York International Shakespeare Festival doesn’t begin in earnest until next spring, exciting preparations are already underway. I had the honour of sitting down with Irwin Appel, writer and director. In the following interview I talk to him about his previous condensed Shakespeare production The Death of Kings and his latest project for the York Shakespeare Project, a condensed Henry VI history play. This will be part of the 2025 edition of the York International Shakespeare Festival.
The genesis of this production really started in 2015. While writing The Death Of Kings, Irwin had travelled all over Europe to notable places in Shakespeare’s history plays and, in turn, our histories. Between visiting the town square in Rouen where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake and the Temple Garden in London, home to Henry VI’s rose picking scene, he was also seeing a lot of theatre. After a visit to the RSC in Stratford-Upon-Avon to see a performance of Henry V, Irwin and his wife spotted a poster for a local production in York – performed by our very own York Shakespeare Project. They travelled North to see it. “I loved it – it really touched me, and my wife, too,” he said. “I made sure to keep in contact with the Project because from then on I was so invested in their work.” When the opportunity arose to take the lead on a condensed version of Henry VI, he was all for it – “We could make something really special.”
Condensing something as formidable as Shakespeare is not new to Irwin; his duology, The Death Of Kings, combines all eight of Shakespeare’s history plays into two full-length productions, one covering Richard II until Henry IV part 2, and the other spanning from Henry V and finishing at Richard III.
“What drew me to the Death Of Kings project was that Richard III is one of the best known history plays, and probably the one that most people have seen,” he said, and he’s right – I’m not the only one who remembers reading it in school. “And in there, you have a character like Queen Margaret – but in Richard III, you meet her after she’s already been banished. She’s older, back to haunt and curse everyone!” Irwin’s goal, above everything else, is to translate those stories in their entirety for the audience – the full spectacle of the histories in compact form. “You don’t get the complete arc of Queen Margaret’s full character the way you would if this was a television series – watching Richard III is like watching the series finale.” Condensing the plays for twenty-first century audiences puts these characters back into context.
I asked him if he could share some insight into his writing process with me. “I’m going to be honest with you, I sort of have a short attention span.” Irwin confessed. “And, I’m being glib, but I try to trust my own sense of momentum and theatricality. But I didn’t know if it would work – what would I have left over after cutting 70% of the thing?” He worked on The Death Of Kings almost every day for around 9 months until something stuck, and he felt a buzz – the rest is history. It’s in this same spirit that he’s taken on all three parts of Henry VI, with velocity at the forefront. The production is shaping up to be a physical, intense, and thrilling ride through the leadup to the Wars of The Roses.
What were his thoughts on adapting these plays as someone who shares a language but not a personal connection to British history? “I am deeply humbled and honoured that I, an American, have been invited to York to direct these stories, especially. I’m an outsider in this city and this culture, and I’m sensitive to that, and want to take great care of it. One of the great joys is that the YSP is included in the York International Shakespeare Festival – I’m incredibly grateful to them for including this production in the line-up. I love the UK, I love York, so I don’t approach it as if we’re different, I approach it as though we’re all trying to achieve the same goal: the theatrical experience.” His actor first, story first approach is the same no matter where he is in the world, and has seen great success. Recently, his theatre company, NakedShakes, was selected to perform a condensed version of The Death Of Kings at the Verona Shakespeare Festival, and their philosophy as a group reflects just that. “Sorry to disappoint you all, but we are wearing clothes,” Irwin said, a clever nod to his company’s name. “The title stands for the actor and the word. You can take an actor, a bare space, and the script, and you get the magic of the world. It’s actor-generated theatricality that makes for a unique experience”.
Irwin’s passion for Shakespeare’s histories is palpable in everything he does – “I’m a nerd about this stuff, too. I’m not a war buff or a history buff, but I’m just captivated by these plays. They have some of the best material that Shakespeare ever wrote and not enough people know that.” When asked about what brings him back to working with Shakespeare over and over again, his main goal was about reigniting that passion for people who may have lost it over the years:
“Let’s say you’re a student here at York St John and you’re required to come and see it for class. and you’re thinking ‘Oh, man. I’ve gotta go. I’m not gonna understand this! I’m not gonna know who anybody is.’ My hope is that even if you’re grumbling that you’re there at the start, by the end you’re going to forget it all and be absorbed in it – just captivated by it – and that you surprise yourself. Even more so, I hope you’ll go to more YSP plays after that, too.”
Between the huge talent of the York Shakespeare Project and Irwin’s vision for the show, I’m sure it will be a must-see event in 2025’s Festival line-up. The show was already on my radar, talking with Irwin has only confirmed to me that it will truly be something special. If you need more convincing to come and see it, I will leave you with some final words from the man himself:
“First of all, I would like to say thank you to everybody for trusting me and having me here – it’s thrilling to me to explode it out from within – to find the clues in it, and live in the world of what the imagery evokes. Not to recreate it, but to be connected to the impulse behind it. In return, we’re going to give you an exciting, electric, truly alive performance.”