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Abstract: This essay reads the 2001 production of Henry V , directed by Jeannette Lambermont for the Stratford Festival of Canada, as an attempt to trouble the archive of the play-text. Going beyond the rabbit/duck duality of the play, the production provided additional framing for the Chorus: an archaeologically layered set, extensive live and archival video, interpolated transitional scenes, and an onstage cellist. Drawing on the Stratford Festival's own archives, as well as reviews of the production, this essay argues that these directorial additions located Agincourt as one of many battles fought on the same ground, the play as one of many nationalist archives, and the Chorus as a biased interpreter of the archive. The production, which opened before and closed after 9/11, remains relevant for its prescient interrogation of the relationship between war messaging and archival manipulation.
Janelle Jenstad (Sat,) studied this question.