“Cry God for Harry, England and Saint George! And to hell with all the other poor buggers.”
Written in the 1980s by Peter Mottley, After Agincourt centres on Shakespeare’s braggart soldier,
Pistol. The audience finds him bitter, drunk and alone in the Boar’s Head Tavern seven years after
the battle of Agincourt.
In visceral modern vernacular, he suffers through a brutal recollection of the before, during and aftermath of the battles that took place at Harfleur and Agincourt in 1415. Simultaneously, he obliterates the familiar and heroic image of Henry V who – as the story goes – courageously rallied his troops to fame and glory.
This stage show is from theatre company The Crooked Billets which was formed in 2024 by actors Gareth David-Lloyd, Felix Uff and BAFTA nominated director Paul Olding. The company’s first production was a short showcase run of After Agincourt and Before Nell as a double bill at The Tabard in West London which received an overwhelmingly positive response.
Using Shakespeare’s Henry V as a framework, the play deftly explores themes of class, PTSD and the real human cost of war and achieves a highly emotional and captivating drama. Underscoring the narrative is Peter Mottley’s meticulous historical research which serves to sharpen the details of the time period and lay bare the grim realities of war.
This play is written by Peter Mottley, performed by Gareth David-Lloyd and directed and designed by Paul Olding.
Details
Venue: Rotunda: Bubble, Regency Square, Brighton.
Dates: Saturday 10 May to Thursday 15 May at 6.30pm. No performance Monday 12 May
Duration: 70 minutes
Age suitability: 14+ (guideline)
Babes in Arms policy: Under 2s are not allowed at this event.
Tickets: £10 per performance. (241 on Tuesday 13 May through the Brighton Fringe website)
