Christian Pizzirani Photo by Jennifer Le Blanc

"Therefore take heed how you impawn one person,
How you awake our sleeping sword of war.
We charge you in the name of God, take heed;
For never two such kingdoms did contend
Without much fall of blood."

The King who looks squarely, calmly and bluntly into the eyes of the Archbishop of Canterbury–a man willing to deposit huge amounts of Church money to persuade the King to battle hated France–this King is clearly not the same Prince Hal who once spent his nights in the dark alleys and bars of London with his rotund, rascally pal, Sir John Falstaff, as detailed in William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Parts One and Two. No, the once rabble-rousing Hal has quickly matured upon the death of his father to become a young king of steady mind and steely resolve. That becomes immediately clear as soon as Jennifer Le Blanc enters the intimate stage of The Pear Theatre as the recently crowned Henry V for a bare-bones production of Henry V that is grand in scope and effect.

For the nearby audience, surrounding on four sides and only a few feet away from this sovereign who is the focus of Shakespeare's Henry V, there is soon no doubt but that Jennifer Le Blanc is a brilliant casting choice to deliver some of the greatest lines ever written to describe the horrors of the battlefield and the resulting demise to families. With a palpable conviction, her Henry will roam among seen and unseen soldiers, providing words of courage and encouragement to soldiers even as they face an enemy many times their numbers. As this still-green king and leader faces first nights of battle, her Henry will captivate their ultimate respect as the king ponders what it means to be a sovereign leader with the sleepless nights that come with such a responsibility.

Hers is a king who is very approachable, human, and down-to-earth, as is seen in a moving scene in which Henry disguises himself and wanders around speaking and sparring in words with his soldiers. Her king also still has some of the hot blood of Prince Hal, with clinch-fisted anger rising upon a "gift" of tennis balls from the French Dauphin or with a near-acceptance of a duel with a testy soldier who does not realize he is insulting a disguised king.

As portrayed by Le Blanc, this is a newly crowned monarch who imbues quiet confidence in tough decisions made and who owns responsibility for those decisions while also able to inspire soldiers on their way to almost a sure death. With fiery confidence as evidenced in both glowing countenance and electrically charged tone of voice, Le Blanc compellingly delivers Henry's famous, pre-battle speech to a group of generals expecting their soon demise at Agincourt, forever known as the "Band of Brothers" speech:

"From this day to the end of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered –
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that shed his blood with me
Shall be my brother."

Even as Le Blanc's stellar performance is alone worth the price of the evening's ticket, the other four cast members are equally impressive in their abilities to play between five and nine roles each, changing often in a matter of seconds nationalities, accents, postures and demeanors while switching often only a cap, cape or scarf to take on a new role. Collectively, the four also serve as a Chorus, entering and exiting at one of four corners and volleying single lines like a ping-pong ball among them, never missing a beat as they detail an army's Channel crossing or its harrowing battles on the field.

Evan Winet is wily and uncompromising as his Archbishop of Canterbury presses young Henry toward a war with France, only minutes later appearing with high grandeur of spirit and attitude as the overly confident King of France, Charles VI. In both roles, his ever-widening, piercing eyes are as commanding in their messaging as are his well-delivered words. Among his six roles is the lowly and rascally Bardolph, once a pal of Hal's whom the now-King will send to his death as a warning to all not to steal from the conquered French people.

Laughter often is heard when Annamarie MacLeod takes the stage, since several of her seven roles demonstrate Shakespeare's trait of embedding humor even in monumental histories detailing war. Her Welsh accents abound for her red-capped Captain Fluellen while her struts and overly proud manners are hilarious as she embodies the French Prince, Louis the Dauphin–a character costume designer Greet Jaspaert has particular fun with, donning him in a peacock feathered coat with a lone feather to serve as a sword he will never dare use.

MacLeod's Nym is a pun-punching pal of William J. Brown III's Pistol; the two commoners (and former beer-chugging friends of Prince Hal) are hammer-and-bat toting soldiers who are quick to judge their superiors (but always out of ear-shot, of course). Brown's Duke of Exeter is very exacting with nerves of steel as he delivers England's messages of no-compromise to the haughty French court while his English field captain, MacMorris, is delightful as a proud Irishman with the look of an over-grown leprechaun. And Shakespeare's penchant to ridicule the French is underlined as Brown embodies a hankie-waving, somewhat swishy Duke of Orleans.

As a recent Theatre Arts graduate of San Jose State, Georgia Ball deliciously and decidedly transitions the personalities and societal levels of nine different roles. Particularly important among them is that of Katherine, the French princess who becomes a key part of the peace settlement between victorious England and a soundly defeated France. As she prepares to meet the King, she hilariously and endearingly practices English names of body parts, with her French-heavy pronunciations leaving her, her nanny Alice (another role full of robust relish for Annamarie MacLeod), and us in chuckles. Later, a scene of Henry courting the French-speaking maiden in his English-only quest for her statement of love is one of the highlights of the entire production, with both actors showing signs of awkward, coy, shy, forward, and in the end, eagerness to seal the deal–all within the same, short sequence.

The seamless switching of so many roles along with a constant clarity of who is who even with the roles encompassing the armies, courts, and commoners of two different countries is accomplished with full aplomb through the astute direction of Kevin Hammond. It is a tribute both to him and to the cast that never a line appeared to be dropped or a cue missed.

The most minimal of set pieces populate Louis Stone-Collonge's design, but there is enough to envision a court or battlefield scene, particularly with Adrian Gilstrap's lighting design which distinctly establishes day from night, indoors from out of doors.

Besides engulfing us with the sounds of unseen sea crossings and battles, Beatrice Page reminds us in her sound design of the ever-and-current presence of war by mixing modern weapon, helicopter, and missile sounds with those of more ancient battle cries. Upfront, her soundtrack of songs like R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts," Green Day's ""Boulevard of Broken Dreams"," and The Who's "My Generation" sets us up for the pains of war, the loneliness of a king's decisions, and the impact on the young being recruited into a ruler's call to battle.

The Pear Theatre's Henry V is a close-up, intense look into the face of a young leader who must make decisions that will cost many lives for a cause that one cannot help but wonder how it can be deemed worthy of such a price. The battle before us becomes Every War and the individual combatants, Every Soldier. As the epilogue so tellingly reminds us, the victory and final peace of Henry V will soon be completely and horrifically undone in Henry VI. And so goes the world to this day.

Henry V runs through May 11, 2025, at The Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida, Suite A, Mountain View CA. For tickets and information, please visit www.thepear.org.