And Henry VI himself? An infant when he inherits the crown, this king (Jon Norman Schneider in a lovely, understated performance) grows into a placid, passive, pious man — reasonably decent, albeit comically effete in the manner of those pampered from birth. Intelligent yet callow, he is dependent on the wisdom of the Duke of Gloucester, protector of the realm before Henry comes of age.

The redoubtable Mia Katigbak plays Gloucester, and one of the rewards of this production is watching the battle for influence between Gloucester and the Bishop of Winchester, played by Wai Ching Ho (Madame Gao in the Marvel/Netflix television universe) — just two of the standout women in an impressive 16-member cast that does a lot of doubling. When Gloucester’s fortunes fall, sunk in part by his own imperious wife (the excellent Sophia Skiles), Ms. Katigbak imbues him with a desolate poignancy.

Power is the shiny object nearly all of these characters are grasping for, whether to attain what they don’t have or to cling fiercely to what they do. And so to war, first with France and a fantastically lively Joan of Arc — or Joan la Pucelle (Kim Wong), as she’s known here. There’s also a popular uprising to quash (“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” one rebel says), and the War of the Roses to wage, with the Duke of York (Rajesh Bose) pitted firmly against Henry. His vengeful son Richard (David Huynh) will carry on that enmity, determined to seize the throne.

To the factions in “Henry VI,” no assault on human life is too barbaric if it will feed their craving for dominance. That’s as true of the rabid mob in the populist rebellion as it is of the combatants in the War of the Roses, better heeled but just as greedy and as cruel.

So much slogging through battle might make heavy going if not for Queen Margaret, Henry’s wife, one of Shakespeare’s most riveting characters. She’s the royal you love to hate: duplicitous and nakedly ambitious from the get-go, but a savvy tactician and as ferociously brave as she is vicious. It’s a magnificent role, and Mahira Kakkar gives a smart, muscular performance flecked with humor.