I had forgotten how much I enjoy Shakespeare done simply, that sounds daft but there are so many productions that seek to make the plays "now" and funky that it is a genuine delight to watch Greg Doran's simple, effective, production - letting the words do the work.In fact I could have done without most of the minimal staging that was included, it added little except trucking noises between scenes.
Henry IV is definitely a play of two halves, and for me they are not equal with Part 1 being a 'better' play all round; although it should, perhaps, have been called "The Lies and Rise of Falstaff". In this production, Jasper Britton's Henry IV is a properly troubled character. Desparate to fight in the Holy Land he is tied to protecting England from rebels and former friends whilst his heir, Alex Hassell's utterly convincing Prince Hal, squanders his life under the guidance of Sir John Falstaff (Antony Sher). Whilst we, the audience, are let in early to the secret that the Prince has a plan, the king is not and feel betrayed up until good Prince Hal agrees to take on the rebels and fight the valiant Hotspur.
The history in this case, well, what Shakespeare and the Elizabethans chose to interpret/present as history, plays second fiddle to the lives of Prince Hal and Falstaff with their band of reprobates always on the wrong side of the law. Taking up so much of the play's foreground this storyline needs to be slickly played. Antony Sher is an excellent, memorable Falstaff but I think Greg Doran should have chivied his pace in a few places to keep up the momentum.
An excellent cast and clean production makes the time fly by - there is a CD of the music and major speeches which is also available from iTunes.
Catch this production on tour or broadcast live to cinemas (14 May).
