Day 154: What I Learned from Henry IV, Part I

I admit I was apprehensive about the histories and so far I have found them a little intimidating, but it's almost impossible not to see the appeal of Falstaff and Prince Hal in Henry IV. Most of their scenes take place in a pub, either drunkenly planning or drunkenly recounting all manner of petty crimes unbefitting the heir to the throne. It's no wonder why King Henry wishes he could trade his son in for a better one.

Matthew Macfadyen as Prince Hal and Michael Gambon as Falstaff in Henry IV, National Theatre.
Photo: Catherine Ashmore (via guardian.co.uk)

Falstaff and Prince Hal have been interpreted a number of ways, including as a street hustler and pimp in My Own Private Idaho. But as I was reading it I kept picturing them as the sort of characters who could be played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Sure, there isn't the age difference between them that there is between Falstaff and Prince Henry, but that same sort of slacker/wastrel/bad influence/best mate relationship is totally there. Can't you just picture Simon Pegg as the reluctant heir to the throne who spends all of his time at the pub with his up-to-no-good best friend who brings out the (hilariously) worst in him? If you've ever seen ANYTHING with the two of them in it, THEN OF COURSE YOU CAN.

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg from Shaun of the Dead (2004) (via downwithfilm.com)

There's even a scene at the end of Act III in Henry IV Part I in which Prince Henry realizes that he has to get up off his bar stool and actually go to war that reminds me of Simon Pegg's "this shit just got real" moment in Hot Fuzz. 

Prince Henry declares:

The land is burning. Percy stands on high,

And either we or they must lower lie.

To which Falstaff responds that he will gladly go to war with his friend...after a good breakfast.

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg (with a swan) in Hot Fuzz (2007) (via fanpop.com)

If Simon Pegg were a Shakespeare geek (which, FYI, he TOTALLY IS) he could definitely do justice to Henry IV. And maybe even have time for a Cornetto (which I just realized sounds like 'crown'--OH MY GOD IT'S SO PERFECT!).