Meet King Henry II of England, also known as Alfred Edgecombe from Palmerston North.
“My mother was really into amateur dramatics and so were my siblings so I really grew up in theatre,” Alfred told me.
“I’m really interested in history and I’ve studied it. This play is largely historically correct but at the time they actually celebrated the twelfth day of Christmas, the fifth or sixth of January, not December 25 as we do.
“I was in The Lion in Winter when I was in high school. There were three of us from the high school who played the three princes and we had huge fun. I just fell in love with it.
“Henry’s a huge part. There are so many speeches to learn but it’s a great part to play, really meaty with a lot of depth but there’s humour too. There’s anger and laughter.”
He must be as keen as he sounds because he’s travelling up to Whanganui from Palmerston North three times a week for rehearsals.
Thanks, Alfred. You’re a splendid King Henry II of England!
Come and see King Henry at Repertory Theatre opening July 20 at 7pm.