All-Female HENRY IV Extends Off-Broadway at St. Ann's Warehouse

St. Ann's Warehouse and the Donmar Warehouse have announced that they will extend the American Premiere engagement of the Donmar's radical Henry IV amidst rave reviews and popular demand. Ben Brantley of The New York Times deems the production a Critic's Pick and praises director Phyllida Lloyd'sempowerment of a female cast (playing incarcerated women) to undertake Shakespearean roles traditionally reserved for men. He writes, "It's an exultant spirit of freedom with which these captive women burn...[and] a multilayered act of liberation. Prisoners are allowed to roam the wide fields of Shakespeare's imagination; fine actresses are given the chance to play meaty roles that have been denied them; and we [the audience] get to climb out of the straitjackets of our traditional perceptions." Performances, at the new waterfront St. Ann's Warehouse, will now take place through December 13.

Remaining performances in the initial run (November 6 - December 6) include November 17-21, 24-25, 27-28, and December 1-5 at 7:30pm; November 22 & 29 and December 6 at 7pm; and November 21-22, 28-29 and December 5-6 at 2pm. The extension performances will take place December 8-12 at 7:30pm, December 12 & 13 at 2pm, and December 13 at 7pm. Tickets, $55-80, can be purchased at www.stannswarehouse.org, 718.254.8779, and 866.811.4111. St. Ann's Warehouse is located at 45 Water Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Critics have hailed the performances comprising this emotionally dynamic and thrillingly physical production. Brantley writes in the Times, "Harriet Walter was born to play Henry IV, and thank God she was given the chance." He adds that the "sheer kinetic youthfulness" of Jade Anouka's Hotspur "is irresistible" and that Clare Dunne's Prince Hal "has the fiery radiance of not just a royal heir but also a hedonist high on cocaine." Jesse Green of New York Magazine writes, "You couldn't ask for a...more commanding Henry than Harriet Walter." In a Critic's Pick review, David Cote of Time Out NY calls the cast "a lively, diverse mix of veterans and fresh faces," deems Walter "marvelous" as King Henry and Anouka "charismatic and fiery" as Hotspur, and praises the "chilly, appraising hardness" that Dunne brings to Prince Hal.

Jacob Gallagher-Ross' Village Voice review says, "The diverse ensemble melds the plays' medieval warrior society with those of latter-day descendants: gangs, soccer hooligans, yobs. Harriet Walter's haunted King Henry is an eagle-eyed capo, collecting tribute in the yard; Jade Anouka makes an incandescent Hotspur; Clare Dunne renders Prince Hal as a strutting bruv with hidden depths; and Sophie Stanton's Falstaff is a sly treat, the best portrayal of the part I've seen."

In The Huffington Post, David Finkle writes, "The major triumph of this triumphant undertaking is Lloyd's work with the actors. Harriet Walter...proves she's not only a first-rate Shakespearean in female roles...She's also a first-rate Shakespearean actor in men's roles...Clare Dunne makes the transition from Hal's youthful follies in bawdy Cheapside to warrior and responsible new monarch entirely persuasive. She's expertly aided by Sophie Stanton's Falstaff."

The cast also features Jackie Clune as Westmorland and Glendower, Shiloh Coke as Mortimer, Karen Dunbar as Vernon and Bardolph, Zainab Hasan as Hostess, Jenny Jules as Worcester, Sharon Rooney as Lady Percy, Carolina Valdés as Northumberland, and Susan Wokoma as Poins and Earl of Douglas.

Henry IV is designed by Bunny Christie with Ellen Nabarro (set), Deborah Andrews (costumes), James Farncombe (lights) and Tom Gibbons (sound). Movement direction is by Ann Yee and fight direction is by Kate Waters. Stef O'Driscoll is Assistant Director.

In conjunction with the production, the Donmar Warehouse has brought its highly successful multi-pronged education program to New York City. There are in-school workshops, an intensive half-day workshop for young women and mentors, as well as workshops organized specifically for young people in the juvenile justice system. Workshops focus on the themes of Henry IV and prepare students to attend a special student matinee on November 18. St. Ann's and the Donmar have also launched One Take Shakespeare, an online contest for young women ages 13-18; contestants upload a 90-second video of themselves performing a Shakespearean monologue written for a man. The Henry IV cast members will then select two winners, each of whom will receive a pair of tickets to a performance of the Donmar production at St. Ann's Warehouse. For more information, visit www.onetakeshakespeare.com.

Phyllida Lloyd's productionpreviously garnered tremendous critical praise in its world premiere at the Donmar Warehouse in London last year. The production prompted The Guardian to call Harriet Walter "one of the best Shakespeareans alive." The Financial Times called it "terrific... urgent, mischievous, and subtly layered"; The Evening Standard described it as "grungy, rebellious, and bracingly inventive"; and The Observer said it "roughs up expectations on front after front."

Henry IV is the second production in a trilogy of all-female Shakespeares Phyllida Lloyd has undertaken. The first, Julius Caesar, was the first collaboration between St. Ann's Warehouse and the Donmar Warehouse and was a hit of the 2013-14 New York theater season. In his New York Times review of Julius Caesar, Brantley wrote, "It sometimes takes a woman to show us what men are truly made of" and "this Julius Caesar generates a higher testosterone level than any I have seen."

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