Produced by Gavin Birkett, it is a wonderful memento of an amazing evening.

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The Herald again leads the way, praising this “Bold reinvention of historic Henry”, in performances over three nights at the School’s Levi Fox Hall, the RSC’s Swan Theatre and the historic Guildhall – Shakespeare’s schoolroom.

Professional actor and Old Boy Tim Pigott-Smith, who performed the role of Chorus, was described an “an inspired choice… [he] superbly evoked the ‘imaginary puissance’ of the English expedition, but the embedded pedantry of a schoolmaster cast an implicitly ironic light on the enterprise’s apparent glories.”

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s Blogging Shakespeare was equally quick to heap praise on the the student actors: “Jeremy Franklin’s King Henry V was compelling not only in the way he spoke and understood the lines, but in how he managed to charm and persuade the company around him. He was very much at the centre of this world, but it was a world which was held together by the sum of all its parts.”

In The Bardathon, Peter Kirwan added: “In a cast of almost fifty students it is hard to pick out individuals. The production’s strongest moments were its group scenes, including a spectacular movement sequence as Henry began trudging determinedly at the end of the first half.”

The Shakespeare Blog admired the subtle references to the historical context of this production woven seamlessly into Perry Mills’ staging: “At the end of the play, in a ceremony reminiscent of Shakespeare’s birthday celebrations in Stratford, the boys line up to place posies of spring flowers on the coffin of Henry V… The production skillfully connects today’s schoolboys, some of whom appear in their school uniforms, with modern soldiers and with the historical characters of the play. The youth of some of the boys on stage is a reminder of the harshness of the war in which the boys of 1913 went on to fight, some to die.”

Over the space of three memorable evenings, one of the most poignant episodes in the School’s history has been celebrated, and a new chapter written in the story of King Edward VI, and its remarkable Edward’s Boys ensemble.

With one day to go before the first performance of Henry V at the Levi Fox Hall, BBC Midlands Today ran a feature on the production, featuring cast and crew, and producer Richard Pearson.

Before Christmas we asked for corporate sponsors and individual patrons to lend their support to this ambitious project. The response was magnificent.

• Seven local businesses generously offered to support the production as corporate sponsors, raising nearly £2,000.
• Our Crowdfunding campaign for individual patrons through Sponsume raised £710, significantly above our £500 target.

Many, many thanks to all those who have offered their support. It is much appreciated.

Poignantly, all the boys taking part in the production later fought in the First World War, and seven were killed, including two sets of brothers.

One hundred years later, in a space familiar to the boys of 1913, Edward’s Boys will perform a production of HENRY V in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre, and the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, only recently discovered, will be heard for the first time in a century.

For more information please visit our dedicated Henry V 2013 website.

Dr Emma Smith – Hertford College, Oxford