Kit Harington leads the cast
(Picture: Helen Murray)It’s not Kit Harington’s fault that his Shakespearean debut has been hijacked by world events. The Game of Thrones star makes a good fist of the king who matures from playboy to warmonger to folk hero. But he’s often sidelined in a tricksy, unfocused production by Max Webster that aims to say something about English nationalism, but accidentally echoes the atrocities unfolding in Ukraine. It’s bad timing: we’ve got 24/7 news showing us that war is hell, without Webster repeatedly dinning it into us.
We first see Harington’s Hal blowing chunks during a nightclub coke binge but he sobers up fast after his father’s death. He’s a modern media royal, snapped by paps and aware of the power of his image and words. The suggestion is that his opportunistic war with France is a quick hit to get the doubting public on side. Remind you of Brexit, much?
