Product Review

Prince Hal, son of King Henry IV, seems to be squandering his life away with the fat knight Sir John Falstaff and the whores, boozers and petty rogues of Eastcheap. But beside these scenes of glorious misrule gathers a nationwide rebellion led by the Duke of Northumberland and his charismatic son, Hotspur. The first installment of Shakespeare's gripping account of the rise of Hal from idle barfly to monarch-in-waiting combines compelling power politics with the hilarious antics of Falstaff, Shakespeare's greatest comic creation. Roger Allam ('a Falstaff to treasure' The Times) won the 2011 Best Actor Olivier Award for his performance in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. Jamie Parker stars as Prince Hal ('superb The Guardian, 'marvelous' Time Out); he appeared in As You Like It at the Globe in 2009, and was also in The History Boys at the National Theatre, on Broadway and on film.