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Things go from Bard to verse

Within days I was sat in the stalls at the famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre waiting for the opening scene of Henry IV Part I.

I didn't exactly argue when the art editor thrust the tickets into my hand. I'd always liked the theater; I often went with my mother as a child, but usually to lighter fare like Guys and Dolls, not political dramas in ye olde English. Still, I didn't really want to be there.

Then, the curtain went up – and my life changed forever.

Suddenly, it all made sense. The words, movement, facial expressions, the emphasis the actors put on certain words, I was following it all. I even found myself laughing out loud at Falstaff.

I returned to the office the next day ready to take any press tickets going.

However, my newfound enthusiasm took a bit of a dent a couple of weeks later after I was asked to review a student production of Henry V.

"What did you think of the big battle scene, then?" my editor asked the next day, naturally keen to hear what treatment had been given to one of the most bloody scenes in British literature.

I looked at him blankly for a second or two and then replied, "What battle scene?"

Apparently I'd mistakenly left at half time.

Broadcaster:

Greg Fountain is a copy editor and occasional presenter for China Daily. Before moving to Beijing in January, 2016 he worked for newspapers in the Middle East and UK. He has an M.A in Print Journalism from the University of Sheffield, a B.A in English and History from the University of Reading.