William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present Argo Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.

'No, no, I am but shadow of myself:

You are deceived, my substance is not here.'

Henry VI Part I is part of Shakespeare’s trilogy centred on the Wars of the Roses.

After Henry V's death and while Henry VI is young, nobles rule England and fight the French, including Joan of Arc. As Henry VI becomes king, the noble houses begin to divide and take sides between York and Lancaster. The war with France winds down, and the nobles try to find Henry a wife and disagree about who Henry chooses.

All of the Shakespeare plays within the Argo Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations.

Thurston Dart, professor of music at London University and a fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, directed the music for this production.

The full cast includes: Richard Marquand, David King, Carleton Hobbs, Terrence Hardiman, Denis McCarthy, Roger Croucher, Peter Orr, Frank Duncan, John Tydeman, Gary Watson, William Devlin, Gordon Gardner, Cyril Luckham, John Nettleton, John Shrapnel, Raymond Clark, Brian Batchelor, David Rowe-Beddoe, Anthony Arlidge, Bob Jones, Patrick Garland, Clinton Baddele, John Hopkins, John Tracy-Phillips, David Buck, John Bartom, Ronald Grey, Mary Morris, Yvonne Bonnamy, Freda Dowie.