Phrases and lines from Shakespeare’s Henry V have made their way into popular culture, no doubt spawned by film adaptations. “Once more unto the breach” gets referenced, while every Hollywood scriptwriter has to come up with his/her own version of Henry’s St. Crispin’s Day speech just before a battle scene. (See this year’s “Pacific Rim” and Idris Elba’s “Today, we are canceling the Apocalypse!” speech for one example.)
Likewise, Casey Caldwell’s “We Happy Few” quotes from the same text for his experimental play, opening tonight at the Public Library and then popping up at various venues around the county — at the Solvang Veterans’ Memorial Building and the Santa Barbara Veterans Building, at UCSB, and at the Unitarian Society. This time, the play will be sampled much more.