BBC 2 Henry Vth.

I was extremely disappointed with the new (July 2012) television adaptation of Shakespeare`s play King Henry Vth. The actors were all brilliant, but the major speeches, for which the play is justly famous,  were mutilated, and whole scenes and characters went missing. The night before Agincourt in the French camp was reduced to a few short and barely intelligible tableaux, whereas the night scene in the English camp was played almost complete. Pistol did not get an opportunity to see a Leek let alone eat one, and the Boy apparently survived the battle despite the fact that Shakespeare informs his public that all the boys have been killed. I have never heard Shakespeare`s verse spoken so slowly and so portentously. If the lines had been spoken at the quick fire rate that Shakespeare`s art requires then fewer cuts would have been needed to squeeze the play into the time slot that the BBC had allocated. This was the fault of the direction, not of the actors. I was made so angry by this production that I threw my hat at the television. - Trevor Potter.22/07/12.