Presented by Players Club of Swarthmore (PCS Theater) as part of 2025 Philly Theatre Week!
The Ballad of King Henry is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I. The play centers around three storylines, all marching forward to their inevitable intertwining at the climactic Battle of Shrewsbury. This adaptation trades in the stiffness and rigidity of Elizabethan England for the folksy charm of Appalachian Americana, as a troupe of players and the tavern band regale the patrons- our audience- with an all too American tale of civil war.
England is entrenched in civil war. King Henry IV has a tenuous grasp on the throne as he tries to quash a growing army of rebels, led by his former allies Harry “Hotspur” Percy and the Earl of Worcester. While King Henry struggles with the war, he is equally frustrated by the behavior of his rebellious son, Prince Hal.
Prince Hal is living a life ill-suited for a future king. He spends his days at a tavern with nefarious company- highlighted by the disgraced and lazy knight John Falstaff. But there is more to Hal than meets the eye. While he seems to live a life of debauchery, he has in truth crafted this public persona while waiting for the right moment to leap into the spotlight and prove his valiance and heroism in remarkable underdog fashion. And this war may just create the circumstance he has been waiting for.
The plotlines of these three characters- King Henry, Hal, and Hotspur- are destined to come together at Shrewsbury, in a battle that will change the course of the war- and their lives- forever.
An earlier version of The Ballad of King Henry was presented as Wars & Whores: The Henry IV Musical in the 2011 Philly Fringe Festival. Following numerous concert performances, including at Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live and NYC’s SideWalk Cafe, the show was reimagined as The Ballad of King Henry, which will have its world premiere in this production at PCS.