Shakespeare and the Zombie Plague of 1590

Next in our “Playwright Spotlight” series we have Richard Henry, who collaborated with previous PlayFest playwright Eric Hissom to bring us an epic mashup of zombies and William Shakespeare in Shakespeare and the Zombie Plague of 1590.

Orlando Shakes: Who or what inspired you to become a playwright?

Richard Henry: Shakespeare and the Zombie Plague of 1590 is the first play I’ve ever written. My writing partner Eric Hissom has written several wonderful plays which made him the perfect choice for me to collaborate with when I presented to him the idea of writing this piece together. Eric and I have acted in several Shakespeare productions together at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC. 

Orlando Shakes: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Richard Henry: This was a collaborative effort between Eric and I. We both work on the road a lot as actors and we live in different states, so all of our brainstorming sessions happened via FaceTime usually. I enjoyed giving each other assignments. He would write one scene and then I would write another and then the next week we would get together online and discuss how to make them work better and blend together seamlessly. 

Orlando Shakes: What was the specific trigger for writing this play?

Richard Henry: I grew up a fan of the horror genre and have had a rock ‘n’ roll zombie Shakespearean epic war play on my mind for years. It was almost too big a concept for me to write on my own and I was quite intimidated by the idea and it’s scope. Having read and seen Eric’s playwriting skills, he seemed to me the perfect match to collaborate with on this crazy idea of mine. His plays are filled with heart and comedy and a whole lot of balance. I wanted our zombie Shakespeare epic to contain those elements as well.

Orlando Shakes: What is the theme or focus of this play?

Richard Henry: Like many of Shakespeare’s epic history plays there is a lot of injustice. Man’s inhumanity towards man. The futility of war, the violent ends that revenge brings are all explored in our play in the same ways Shakespeare explored these themes. Witches, ghosts and fairies are just a few of the fantasy creatures Shakespeare has made integral to his plot lines, so it really didn’t seem that much of a stretch to me to add zombies to the mix as they are a direct correlation of man’s inhumanity towards man. Zombies have always been a representation of a person without a conscience, consuming people until they are gone. They are an embodiment of our consumer culture which consumes and consumes until it devours our humanity. 

Orlando Shakes: What four words or short phrases first spring to mind to describe your play?

Richard Henry: The tagline Eric wrote to sum up our play: A two-act, full throttle, Tarantino-esque, mash-up of Shakespeare’s plays and Zombie movies. Terrifying, hilarious, and slyly anachronistic, with lots of heart, a little social commentary, and buckets of blood.

Orlando Shakes: Is there something you’d like to write about or see a play about that hasn’t been done before?

Richard Henry: I am just crazy enough to consider mashing up vampires and Shakespeare. 

Orlando Shakes: If you are willing to talk about it – what new projects are on your horizon?

Richard Henry: I am currently starring in a new musical called Kiss My Aztec written by John Leguizamo, David Kamp, and Benjamin Velez. It is directed by Tony Taccone and played at the Berkeley repertory theater. The show is currently running at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.

About Richard Henry

Richard Henry is thrilled to make his playwriting debut with his writing partner Eric Hissom. Off Broadway he has appeared in Fiorello (Encores), Two Gentlemen of Verona the Musical (Public,NY). Some regional credits include Assassins (Yale Rep), Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla, Papermill), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Folger Shakespeare), The Music Man (Guthrie), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Old Globe), Twelfth Night (Pig Iron), Man of La Mancha (Jeff Award nomination, Marriott Lincolnshire Theater), Guys and Dolls (Milwaukee Rep), 1776 (Connecticut Rep), Oliver (Goodspeed Opera House),The D’Ysquith Family in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Florida Studio Theater), and most recently starred in Kiss My Aztec a new John Leguizamo musical (Berkeley Rep, LaJolla Playhouse). National Tours include Man of La Mancha, Jesus Christ Superstar, Urinetown, and Sweet Charity. Television: Search Party, season two. www.richardhenrynyc.com