Henry IV, Parts One and Two - were the inaugural productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company's new London home at the Barbican Centre. These were new productions and not London transfers from Stratford-upon-Avon, which was unusal and meant to mark the opening of the Barbican Theatre as a special occasion.

Hugh Quarshie played Sir Richard Vernon until October 1982 when he replaced Timothy Dalton as Hotspur, who had left the company. Quarshie became the first black actor to play Hotspur for the Royal Shakespeare Company.