Henry the Sixth, part Two

With sixty-five speaking roles, one must wonder how this was ever performed!

Good Duke Humphrey gets murdered and we get an early-modern CSI description. The Duke of York is jonesing for the crown and everyone is out for themselves while England heads into the Wars of the Roses. The dangerous antics of Jack Cade might remind you of the squabbles of the noblemen. Warning: At least four heads are smit off—two are made to kiss each other and one ends up cradled in the arms of Margaret. “My brain, more busy than the laboring spider, weaves tedious snares to trap mine enemies."

To remember which Henry 6 play is which, I use the women: In Henry the Sixth, part Two, keep track of the Duchess of Gloucester and watch Margaret grow into her power.

Here is a detailed synopsis on Wikipedia.
This is a chart of the actual historical characters: 2 Henry the Sixth

If your group reads the plays straight through in one sitting and you want to divide up the parts, we have a number of “cast” lists already divided up for you. These are text files that you can edit to suit your group. We always recommend in a straight-through read that each participant take a moment beforehand to mark their parts—then everything proceeds so smoothly. (charts coming soon!)

• Cast for 8, plus a reader for Stage Directions
• Cast for 9, plus a reader for Stage Directions
• Cast for 12, plus a reader for Stage Directions

For those of you who provide parts a scene at a time, this Character Chart shows all the characters' lines in each scene: 2 Henry the Sixth

This is an audio recording of the play by professional actors with sound effects:

There are few films of this play. This BBC version uses the actual text—yay!