Local actor returns to the Opera House

Next week Moira man Patrick Myles will be returning to the theatre his grandmother took him as a young boy. But this time he will not be in the audience at the Grand Opera House, rather he will be gracing the stage in Shakespeare’s Globe’s touring production of Henry VI, Parts 1, II and III.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Aug 2013, 12:28 BST
Henry VI part 3Henry VI part 3
Henry VI part 3

Patrick, a former pupil at Wallace High, began acting in his teens and trained at the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol. In recent years Patrick has played a vast array of roles, including parts in Better than Tomorrow, The Honeypot Killers, Invisibles, Head vs Heart, Red Thursday and he’s been in The Bill, Secret Smile and Planespotting for TV.

However, his roles in this Shakespearean trilogy are among his favourite of his career.

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The Henry VI plays begin with the death of Henry V and together chart the entirety of his son’s turbulent reign. They encompass the stories of Joan of Arc, who is burnt at the stake at the end of Harry the Sixth, and Jack Cade, whose short-lived peasant rebellion is depicted in The Houses of York & Lancaster. Yet at the heart of all three plays is the lethal struggle between York and Lancaster. The black comedy that builds with each reversal of power in The True Tragedy of the Duke of York ultimately sets the stage for the ascent of Shakespeare’s demonic Richard III.

Although usually performed as a trilogy, the Henry VI plays were not intended as such and each one can be enjoyed without knowledge of the others. The Globe will present each of the three plays as stand-alone productions, emphasizing their individual strengths and qualities, while also providing the opportunity to see all three staged chronologically in a single day. Battlefield performances will take place on simple booth stages, offering audiences an authentic experience of early modern theatre.

Overflowing with intrigue and violence, this was Shakespeare’s first blockbuster history sequence and firmly established his reputation as one of the most popular playwrights of the Elizabethan age.

“We had seven weeks of rehearsals and there are 14 of us playing about 56 characters,” explained Patrick.

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“It is a huge undertaking but the director has done an excellent job.

“The show is unashamedly theatrical,” he continued. “These plays are about revenge, lust and power. They are very universal themes.”

The show began touring in York but for Patrick there is just no place like home. “I have never played the Opera House before and the fact that I can come back and play a theatre I used to go to myself is very special. It was the one venue that really jumped out at me and I am very happy to be coming back.”

The three Henry VI plays under their original titles – Harry the Sixth, The Houses of York & Lancaster and The True Tragedy of the Duke of York – will be staged at the Grand Opera House Belfast from Wednesday 28 to Saturday, August 31.

Tickets are on sale now from the Grand Opera House Box Office on 9024 1919 or online at www.goh.co.uk.

Related topics:ShakespeareYorkRED