With his crown under threat from enemies both foreign and domestic, Henry IV prepares for war. Having deposed the previous king, he is only too aware how tenuous his position is, and the price to be paid if he falters. As his father prepares to defend his crown, Prince Hal is languishing in the taverns and brothels of London, reveling in the company of his friend, the notorious Sir John Falstaff. With the onset of the war, Hal and Falstaff are thrust into the brutal reality of the battlefield, where Hal must confront his responsibilities to family and throne.

Directed by Jim Warren alongside Intimacy Director Jessica Morgan, Fight Director Millie Omps, Voice & Text Coach Bridget Rue Esterhuizen, and Dramaturg John S. Shirley. The production's Technical Director is David Byard, Costume Designer is Jason A Young, Hair & Make-Up Designer is Samantha Huffman, and Production Manager is Niki DeWitt. The Mechanicals featured in this production include Calian Byard, Joshua Brooks, Niki DeWitt, Sinead Pechon, Justin Grow, Samantha Huffman, James Matthews, Seret Cole, Stephen Phillips, Jason A Young, and Sarah Young.

Founded by Celi Oliveto in the summer of 2014, The Rustic Mechanicals is the only troupe of actors in the state dedicated to touring the works of William Shakespeare and other classical playwrights.

The Mechanicals now tour five shows annually, including their summer West Virginia Shakespeare in the Park(s) outdoor tour and script-in-hand productions that we call, “a Play, a Pie, and a Pint,” focusing on making Shakespeare’s plays accessible to modern audiences by utilizing dynamic and extreme casting techniques paired with Shakespeare’s staging conditions.

Previous productions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado about Nothing, Macbeth, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo & Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor, King Lear, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, Hamlet, Measure for Measure, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Titus Andronicus, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Cymbeline, and the original works Timeless Romance and Toil & Trouble.