What’s not to like about a play that features a French king dressed in all purple, from his long leather coat and satin pants to his Doc Martens, which are the color of a ripe plum?

Director Asae Dean and her theater company, Salt and Sage, are having a good time with Shakespeare’s Henry V this month … and they’re ensuring audiences enjoy themselves, too. Presenting three Henry plays (including Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2) in repertory, the company has taken Henry V, a militaristic tale about a real medieval English king, and turned it into rousing entertainment, with music, visual humor, and enthralling fight scenes.

While sticking close to Shakespeare’s script (except for a few well-placed snips), creative touches from this small, can-do company add verve to a play that’s almost entirely about war. For example, the enthusiastic Welsh Captain Fluellen (Murren Kennedy) wields a bunch of leeks like a sword, and the character called “Chorus” (Paul Susi) sports a tank top printed with the promotional poster for the Sex Pistols’ song “God Save the Queen.”

Not that the production doesn’t have its serious side. Alex Meyer’s set is composed of two brick walls with arched openings that suggest both church and castle, the halls of power where the fates of ordinary people are decided.

In real life, Henry was a legend to Elizabethan audiences because his relatively puny troops defeated the French at the 1415 Battle of Agincourt. While Shakespeare’s Henry (Alex Albrecht) insists his claim to the French throne is legitimate, it seems like a slim excuse to go overseas and make big speeches. The most famous of these is his St. Crispin’s address, in which he rejuvenates his exhausted troops the night before their biggest battle. It’s the most rousing and poetic part of the script, with Henry saying, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” will go down in history as heroes. He also promises that everyone back home will be jealous they weren’t in on the action.

Such a message doesn’t sit well with our post-Vietnam War society, knowing as we do how returning veterans have been treated. For this reason, Albrecht delivers the speech in a manner that’s so subdued you might forget you’re hearing the iconic lines that are so beloved by Shakespeare enthusiasts.

Instead, the company puts its energies into other pleasures, such as the sight of the laid-back French king (R. David Wyllie) reacting to the threat of an invasion by slouching on his throne and casually caressing his fingertips with his thumb. Later, the French prince (Elliot Lorenc), takes his father’s insouciance to a new level: Wearing a shiny purple shirt with a bright turquoise print (one of the fabulous costumes designed by Harper York), he saunters and smirks, then pops a red grape in his mouth.

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It’s ironic that Shakespeare wrote Henry V without a single battle scene. Dean fills this void by injecting some thrilling fights, which are carefully balanced by notes of pacifism. With accompaniment from banjo, guitar and drums, her actors are as adept at singing protest songs such as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and Jesse Welles’ “War Isn’t Murder” as they are at performing artfully choreographed clashes designed by Kristen Mun-Van Noy.

In the tiny theater (there were 22 seats at the August 17 performance), the audience sits with their backs against the two facing brick walls, and the battles literally take place at their feet. Behind the walls, performers stand framed by the arched windows and produce a driving “Huh!” sound, while clanking their shiny knives and stomping to a persistent beat that rattles the theater seats.

Dean’s casting also shakes things up, beginning with the commanding Susi. On the page, the Chorus previews each act with his timid apologies for the humble stage, which he says can’t do justice to the glories of the battlefield. In contrast, Susi is a terrific storyteller with an eye patch, a bushy beard, and a riveting voice that blusters and bellows.

The theme of storytelling—and the way it’s used to manipulate the truth—is explored by Pistol, another character that Susi portrays. A ne’er-do-well throughout, he says he’ll claim he got his wounds in battle, even though they really stem from a spat with Captain Fluellen and his leeks. While he’s planning this false brag, Pistol pulls on Chorus’s eye patch, casting doubt about the reliability of both characters and implying that history itself can’t be trusted.

While it’s true that the real Henry was a successful warrior, in this production he’s completely inept as the lover of the French princess, Katherine, played by Danya Torp-Pereda, who adds a spark to the slender part. The king’s awkwardness (he makes weird flapping gestures while telling Katherine she’s an angel) adds humor, but it was the only section of the play I wanted to be shorter. Shakespeare’s lengthy love scene is hardly romantic, considering the King of France has sold his daughter to Henry as part of the peace treaty. Plus, Katherine has way more chemistry with Alice (Laura Bouxsein), the gentlewoman who teaches her English.

It would have been exhilarating to see the two women run off together, but the overall beauty of this production is that Salt and Sage milks so much thoughtful entertainment from the material as it was written. Who knew that a centuries-old show about a royal warmonger could be this fun?

*** 

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Salt and Sage’s Henry V, in repertory with Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2, is onstage through August 31 at Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant, Portland. Tickets: online at saltandsagepdx.com.