Henry IV Part 1 Symposium

Honour is forged in fire. Power in patience. Dishonour can overrule both.

This visceral Performance Symposium of Henry IV, Part 1 returns Shakespeare’s history to its medieval roots—a world of mud, steel, ash, blood and relentless political uncertainty. Here, kingship is not an abstract idea but something won, defended and inherited through cunning, violence, loyalty and sacrifice.

Created for students studying the new NSW HSC syllabus, the work explores the play’s enduring questions about leadership, honour, power and identity through an intensely physical theatrical language. The volatile relationship between Prince Hal and Hotspur unfolds against a landscape scarred by civil conflict, while the irrepressible Falstaff reminds us that history is always contested, comic and profoundly human.

For teachers, the symposium offers a vivid exploration of the play’s major concerns and dramatic structure. For students, it provides the unforgettable and immersive experience of witnessing Shakespeare’s language emerge from living bodies, clashing swords and the raw theatrical energy for which these plays were originally written.

History is never static. On stage, it breathes, bleeds and demands to be reckoned with.