Shakespeare's Trilogy Condensed

Stephen Brown-Fried adapts this gripping adaptation of Shakespeare's Lancaster vs York plays, streamlining the three works into two concise and thrilling parts. A dramatic take on The Wars of the Roses, a period of British history that played out like a real life Game of Thrones, the plays take in the turmoil of a Battle for the crown of England that would shape not just Britain, but Europe at large, for centuries. Directed by Brown-Fried, part one, Foreign Wars, begins ominously at the funeral of Henry V, whose son, still a baby, is now on the throne, heralding the dawn of decades of dark chaos. Part two, Civil Strife, carries on the tale three decades later, at the start of the War of the Roses.

What Is The Story?

The tale begins after the death of Henry V, the warrior king who conquered northern France. His heir is an infant and thus his claim to the throne must be protected by regents against the scheming House of York. Henry's symbol is a red rose; York's is a white one. So the War of the Roses takes root, an all-out civil war that will grip the country for generations.