This is a four-star, almost four-hour Falstaff – a condensed version of Henry IV parts I and II that’s a luxurious feast for Ian McKellen and for audiences. Our greatest living classical actor attacks the part of the gluttonous, cowardly knight – one of the few male Shakespearean biggies he’s not previously ticked off – with relish and superb comic timing.
His fat-suited, ebulliently shambolic presence drives and dominates Robert Icke’s production, edging the debate about kingship and fatherhood between King Henry (Richard Coyle) and wayward Prince Hal (Toheeb Jimoh) to the side. Without wishing to dwell too much on the play’s other themes, mortality and ageing, it’s a remarkable feat of skill, swagger and stamina for an 84-year-old.
