Theater Review: <I>Henry V</I>

It is the subtlety of director Shannon Kisch's minimalist staging and cast-generated effects that powers Shakespeare Jerusalem's production of Henry V.

By RACHEL BEITSCH
Theater Review 88 (photo credit: )
Theater Review 88
(photo credit: )
Henry V Shakespeare Jerusalem Directed by Shannon Kisch (English, with Hebrew titles) The Lab Jerusalem November 8 In a play characterized by male bluster and pride, it is the subtlety of director Shannon Kisch's minimalist staging and cast-generated effects that powers Shakespeare Jerusalem's production of Henry V. Kisch makes creative use of both a small space and a small cast (seven actors) to present the story of delinquent-prince-turned-God-fearing-English-monarch Henry V's campaign to seize French lands and sovereignty. The play acknowledges the stage's inability to do such a campaign justice, and instead invites audience participation in imagining battlefields, naval fleets and generations of kings. As such, the simple set serves as most of the props, and - in Kisch's signature style - the actors, in character, arrange the variously sized boxes for each scene transition and frequently change costume onstage. This interweaving of the story and its production fits this fourth-wall-smashing play like a glove. Although the play gets off to a slow start and the title character (played by Eli Haviv) often comes off as bland and/or overly sentimental, both recover by the second act, and the whole of the show features some spirited performances by the supporting actors. Particularly delightful are Michael Marks and sole female performer Roni Yakobovitz, whose versatility in both speech and character are nearly unrivaled among the cast. Yakobovitz is one of two actors whose roles span not only multiple classes and languages, but also both genders, and Marks manages to pull off at least three distinct accents and even more personalities. Theater veteran Allan Leicht, native Frenchman Jeremie Elfassy and Nissan Nativ graduates Yariv Kook and Yacov Brody also flip deftly through an array of multinational, socially diverse characters, resulting in much food for thought and several good laughs. The play runs through Sunday.