Famous Victories of Henry V: Scene 4 FV: Scene 4 Director Peter Cockett Author of Annotations Peter Cockett Video Director Holger Schott Syme Video Compiler Peter Cockett Production Company Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project Conversion and Remediation LEMDO Team Queen’s Men EditionsQME

The Queen’s Men Editions anthology is led by Helen Ostovich, General Editor; Peter Cockett, General Editor (Performance); Andrew Griffin, General Editor (Text; until 2026); and Janelle Jenstad, General Editor (Text; 2026–)

 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada McMaster University Poculi Ludique Societas University of Waterloo University of Toronto Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies University of Victoria Friends of the ISE

Released with Queen’s Men Editions 2.0

 University of Victoria on the Linked Early Modern Drama Online Platform

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Queen’s Men Editions

Page written by Peter Cockett. First published in the QME 1.0 anthology on the ISE platform. Converted to TEI-XML and remediated by the LEMDO Team for republication in the QME 2.0 anthology on the LEMDO platform.

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This was a gem of a scene in performance. The simple and sometimes repetitive prose and Derrick’s comic interjections belie the complexity with which it explores issues of law and royal authority. The scene invites the audience to enjoy the prince striking the judge and then delight in the reversal of fortunes as the judge sends the prince to prison. The two clowns Derrick and John are equally delighted with this scene and replay it for our amusement. The initial inclination of our 21st-century company was to decide whether each scene was serious or comic, but Queen’s Men plays are not designed that way. Rather than aiming to create a consistent tone unity or a separation between the serious and comic elements of this play, we found that pushing both to extremes was more effective. In this scene, the clown Alon Nashman was given free rein to develop comic physical business, Paul Hopkins as the Prince enjoyed similar licence, but David Kynaston (Justice) was challenged to maintain the dignity of his office while all clowned around him. The collision between bawdy comedy and the Justice’s dignity raised serious questions about the rule of law. Kynaston’s character is the victim of the Prince’s power but ultimately asserts the power his father holds over all. The scene invites the audience to initially laugh at him but then with him as he turns the tables on the arrogant son of the king. Kynaston’s Justice was both a priggish representative of judicial authority and a brave nobleman resisting the tyranny of the prince’s actions.

 Navigation See Production Credits. Go back to scene index for the SQM production of Famous Victories.