Henry II is the third of Beth Flintoff's Conquerors trilogy for Reading Between the Lines (RBL) set about the time of the building and consecration of Reading Abbey (1120 to 1164). I missed the first two instalments, Henry I of England and Matilda the Empress, so was unfamiliar with the style and story to date. She has taken real historical figures and even some snatches of dialogue from contemporary accounts and fashioned a period set play in period costumes but with a modern feeling script and including some lively folk music by Luke Potter. It is at times a curious mix and some of the writing, especially in the overlong first act, feels like it needs another draft or two to refine and sharpen the dialogue. Staged in the Reading Minister the pews did begin to feel uncomfortable even with the cushion hired before the interval. However the whole production takes off in the second half as the various story strands are drawn together and the Director Hal Chambers makes better use of the space.
The historical storylines are based around the deteriorating relationship between Henry and his powerful wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, the sudden change in his relationship with Thomas Beckett after he becomes Archbishop of Canterbury and the development of troubadour's, musical poets who sang about consensual love. We are shown the contrasts in Beckett behaviour in Act 1 with a slightly bizarre song and dance about his days as a drunk with Henry and in opening of Act 2 as the pious serious Archbishop in a self flagellation scene. With the troubadours we see in Act 1 a rather dull explanation of the principles of Troubadour poetry but in Act 2 we get a powerful well grouped scene at King's banquet where they fall under the troubadours spell in a test of Henry and Eleanor's relationship when he sings" here lies my heart my love ".
