Before we went to see the performance of Henry IV Part I, Nick Walton led a discussion that was extremely helpful in pointing out the parts of the performance we should pay the most attention to. Nick mentioned that we should notice the performance of Antony Sher as Falstaff, along with the theatrical decisions made by the Royal Shakespeare Company that impact the portrayal of Falstaff in the play. Nick pointed out the front of the poster advertising the RSC’s performance of Henry IV Part I, which shows an image of Falstaff sitting in a chair with a glass of wine looking into a mirror. At first I thought that the RSC just meant to reveal the centrality of Falstaff’s character Shakespeare’s story, but there was something strange in the image. Antony Sher’s reflection in the mirror was distorted, which really confused me. Before the production, I pretty much just tossed the image into the back of my brain and forgot about it until I began to think about Falstaff’s portrayal in the performance. Antony Sher and the RSC portrayed Falstaff as a character who functions as comedic relief and acts as a baseline for Hal’s behavior revealing contrast to Hal when he begins to improve his lifestyle, but ultimately Falstaff became a burden. He is a burden to himself with his inability to achieve self-improvement, his failures burden his relationships, and his contrasting frustrating and lovable personality burdens the audience.
This funhouse image on the cover of the poster advertising Henry IV Part I reveals Falstaff as a well-dressed, somewhat classy character sitting on a stool with a glass of wine. This Falstaff, the one looking into the mirror, represents the best version of this lovable and honest character. On the other side of the mirror is the distorted version of Falstaff, the one he sees when he looks at himself and the one that the other characters in the play see when they look at him. This negative representation of Falstaff alters his own perception of himself, which limits his ability to improve his habits because he has low expectations of his own abilities. He fulfills the expectations he has of himself, which results in poor behavior that is negatively reinforced by his relationships with others. He embraces this side of himself, taking on the full burden of the problematic, imperfect character so that Hal can leave behind his immaturity and grow to become king after his father. This simple image reveals the intentions of the RSC to portray Falstaff as an imperfect reflection of his own potential characteristics before the show even begins.
The RSC production of Henry IV Part I emphasizes the strain that Falstaff’s failures put on himself. Sher’s performance highlights Falstaff’s low expectations of himself and how they increase throughout the production. Although Sher does not initially emphasize the lonely side of Falstaff, once Hal begins to leave behind his childish behavior and treat Falstaff poorly because of his failings, Sher’s performance makes it clear that Falstaff is aware of his failings as are the rest of the characters. I noticed this pretty clearly when Hal and the other characters tease Falstaff, who is always the butt of the joke in this particular group of his peers. They treat him almost as a lovable pet, which they care for when it is convenient for them but use as a scapegoat to blame their own failings on. The RSC production emphasizes not only Falstaff’s failings, but through his relationships the production makes it seem as though Falstaff is almost responsible for Hal’s bad behavior at the beginning of the play. He is viewed as burdensome to those around him and he becomes burdensome to himself as he realizes these failures. He must then accept his place in society and in Hal’s life and take the burden of being the comedic relief for his friends for most of the production.
This characterization of Falstaff continues throughout the play with a combination of theatrical decisions by the RSC and Antony Sher’s representation of Falstaff’s character in Henry IV Part I. Falstaff’s comedic personality shines early in the performance in Act I Scene II when he first appears with Hal, hidden under blankets at the foot of the bed while Hal is having sex with two women in bed. This scene immediately makes the audience feel uncomfortable when they realize Hal is having sex, but as soon as Falstaff is revealed from beneath the blankets the theatre erupted in laughter. This simple vision of a fat, older man sleeping at the foot of the bed while a young, attractive, charming Hal embraces his youthfulness created a lighthearted atmosphere in the theatre. Antony Sher heightens this effect by failing to get up from the makeshift bed without Hal’s assistance before he walks around the room, collecting leftover alcohol from almost empty cups and pours and them out into his glass. Sher’s portrayal of Falstaff reveals a man who cannot seem to function, especially without Hal’s assistance, coupled with the theatrical decisions made by the director to show Hal lovingly offering a hand to his friend. Already, the production has highlighted the immature nature of Hal and Falstaff’s lifestyle, the too close for comfort nature of their friendship, and Falstaff’s alcohol addiction which all contribute to Falstaff’s burdensome characteristics. This duality creates a tension between the characters as Hal tries to improve his behavior and their friendship becomes a burden on Hal’s future.
As Hal begins to leave this lifestyle behind, the tension in their relationship rises quickly. Falstaff’s lifestyle tempts Hal back into his old ways and frustrates the king-to-be. Falstaff’s actions are viewed as extremely inappropriate by the other characters in the play, especially Hal, and begin to frustrate the audience members equally. Falstaff’s alcoholic addiction continues to be problematic and is a burden to Hal, who seems to truly love his friend but cannot continue the irresponsible lifestyle embraced by Falstaff. Later in the play, Hal requests Falstaff’s sword before the fight as he has lost his. Falstaff refuses him and tries multiple times to give Hal his sack instead of the sword, which infuriates Hal who is trying to honorably fight for his father. It is clear after this scene that Hal has abandoned his relationship with Falstaff almost completely because of his need to move forward with his life and leave his old habits behind. He can no longer allow himself to be tempted or burdened by Falstaff’s behavior and the burden falls then solely on Falstaff. Falstaff also becomes a burden to the audience, who begins the show believing in his strong and loving friendship with Hal and hopes that Falstaff will be able to rid of his bad habits, only to be constantly let down by his inability to do so.
I felt that this portrayal of Falstaff’s character by the RSC was very effective, especially leading up to Falstaff’s further personal decline and complete rejection by Hal in Henry IV Part II. Initially, Sher played on my emotions by bringing me into Falstaff’s relationship with Hal, his honesty with himself, and his loyalty to Hal and to the King. Once I was attached to Falstaff as a character, loving him for these reasons but also enjoying his comedic style, I continued to be disappointed by his failures and carried them partially as a burden myself. This tactic works well to contrast with Hal’s self-improvement, placing most of the burden of Hal’s inappropriate behavior on Falstaff. This makes the audience buy into Hal’s journey to be king and by adding this burden to the audience makes them more willing to let go of Falstaff in Henry IV Part II.