Henry IV

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present Argo Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world's most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.

'O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frightened thee. That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down, And steep my senses in forgetfulness?'

Shakespeare's heartbreaking conclusion to his epic pair of history plays.

King Henry IV suffers from illness, so his youngest son, Prince John, fights the rebels, while Prince Hal prepares to be king. Meanwhile, Hal's friend Falstaff causes trouble, recruits and speaks ill of Hal. Henry dies and Hal becomes King Henry V. He banishes Falstaff from court, ready to wage war on France.

All of the Shakespeare plays within the Argo Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations.

Thurston Dart, professor of music at London University and a fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, directed the music for this production.

The full cast includes: Denis McCarthy; Anthony Jacobs; Gary Watson; Corin Redgrave; Ian McKellen; Richard Kaye; Terrence Hardiman; Ian Lang; Anthony Arlidge; Derek Jacobi; John Tracy-Phillips; John Wilders; John Barton; Denis McCarthy; Toby Robertson; Clive Swift; John Tydeman; Richard Marquand; Frank Duncan; David Jones; David Coombes; Donald Beves; Philip Strick; Tony Church; Paul Draper; William Squire; Toby Robertson; Peter Foster; Roger Hammond; Roger Hammond; Roger Hammond; Richard Cotterell; Simon Relph; Camille Prior; Dilys Hamlett; Vivienne Chatterton; Diana Chadwick.