Henry VI: This Means War!

Battle scenes, sex, witchcraft—Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” plays have it all.

The three historical plays are among the Bard’s earliest works, and performing them is a risky move because they’re not as well known as “Hamlet” or “Romeo and Juliet.”

But the Shakespeare Initiative is promising a rousing night to remember with its staging of “The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI Part I,” running at the Brundage Park Playhouse, Sept. 30 through Oct. 9.

Not to make things too confusing but this Part I isn’t Shakespeare’s Part I. It combines “Henry VI Part I” with the first three acts of “Henry VI Part II,” adapted by Richard Norman, the founder of the Shakespeare Initiative and the director of “The Wars of the Roses.”

"People have done adaptations of them before, because obviously making a commitment of three nights of ‘Henry VI’ is a lot for a modern audience,” Norman said. “Some people have combined it into one play. I found I couldn’t do that because I’d lose way too much of the material that I really liked. That was my original plan, to combine it all into one play. But I just kind of realized in the middle of it that there was no way that was going to happen, so I decided to cut it into two.”

But have no fear—this isn’t five hours of the two plays in total. According to Norman, there are plenty of places to cut, such as repetitious dialogue and a few battle scenes.

The first scene of the production is the death of Henry VI’s father. It then gets to the battles between the French and English, with Henry being crowned as the boy king. Toward the end of the first act, Margaret of Anjou enters the picture. She marries Henry for political purposes, after one of Henry’s dukes falls in love with her.

“He’s already married and decides the only thing he can do is present her to his king, so he brings her back and of course they continue an affair,” Norman said.

Finding actors who can handle Shakespeare can be difficult, especially for a community group. The members have jobs, school and other commitments. Norman said the “Henry VI” plays are physically demanding, making them even more difficult.

With all that in mind, Norman made an interesting choice in casting 15-year-old Nicky Fraebel to play the boy king Henry.

"He’s doing an excellent job,” Norman said. "I kind of thought in the beginning, 'You must be out of your mind,' but he’s doing a wonderful job. It’s usually played by someone older and [the character] tends to come off as not particularly bright that way, where if you’re using someone younger, they come across as innocent and naïve, which is a much different way to go."

The Shakespeare Initiative has previously performed plays such as “The Tempest,” “Richard III,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “King Lear.” Norman said he originally planned to do a “Henry VI” adaptation when the company started about five years ago, which means he’s had lots of time to work on the idea.

The company aims to present Shakespeare in a way that’s understandable for audiences at an affordable price (tickets cost $10).

“We want to bring in the students that can’t afford to see a professional production but this way, they can be exposed to it,” Norman said.

Simply watching the plays live makes them easier to follow thanreading the text. In fact, one of the reasons Norman started the Shakespeare Initiative—which hopes to perform all of the Bard’s plays eventually—is because he has a niece who loved watching Shakespeare, either on stage or movie adaptations, until she studied him in college.

“She went to school and decided she was going to take a Shakespeare class and she hated it,” Norman said. “So many kids, the only experience with it they have is a classroom situation where you have people who are reading it because they have to. And it’s taught dryly; you miss the stories. The stories are excellent but you have to see them performed.”

“The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, Part I” will be performed at Brundage Park Playhouse, Brundage Park, Carrell Road in Randolph, Sept. 30, Oct. 1, 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 2 and 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $10. For tickets call, 973-989-7092.