English Kings Killing Foreigners
So we’ve been cast in a post-war English Nationalist Anti-Fascist Kebab Shop reimagining of Henry V set in the future?
The death of a national sweetheart.
A friendship tested by a bloody act.
An infamous production of Shakespeare's Henry V.
A tell-all dark comedy that peels back the skin of English cultural identity to reveal the steaming battlefields that lie beneath. Would you die for your country?
From rehearsal room microaggressions, to the battlefields of France, into the bureaucracy of applying for citizenship, join Shakespeare's Globe Ensemble veterans Nina Bowers and Philip Arditti in English Kings Killing Foreigners as they explore their histories alongside England's own as unwilling actors in a national story.
This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere of RealFake Theatre and Camden People’s Theatre co-production at Camden People’s Theatre in April 2024.
Nina Bowers is an Actor, Theatre Maker and Podcaster, and Drag King. She grew up in Canada, has lived in London for the past 6 years and has dual citizenship (Canada-UK). She graduated from the Acting Collaborative and Devised Theatre course at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2017. She has worked with theatres including: The Barbican Shakespeare’s Globe, The Gate, and Theatre Royal Stratford East, and companies including: Complicite, Jullie Cunningham Company and Dirty Rascals Theatre.
Philip Arditti is an actor, writer, theatre maker and voiceover artist from Istanbul, now based in London. He is trilingual and works in English, Turkish and French. He trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first became known for his portrayal of Uday Hussein in House of Saddam on BBC/HBO. Philip also acted in Jasmine Naziha Jones's critically-acclaimed play Baghdaddy, on at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2022 and named as a Finalist for the 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Philip was part of the founding team of the Arcola Theatre and as of 2024, is currently on the steering committee of Mena Arts UK.