Arts review: Henry IV, Part II and Henry V – skilful portrayals by versatile cast

After opening triumphantly with Henry IV, Part I, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s King and Country continues and concludes with Henry IV, Part II and Henry V.

While there is still much comedy in Henry IV, Part II, it’s a darker play than its predecessor. Instead of the parallel between two young men, Prince Hal and Hotspur, here the focus is on two old men, Falstaff and King Henry, heading towards death.

Simon Thorp is a moving Henry, tormented by his guilt over King Richard’s murder and the burdens of kingship. Antony Sher’s gradual introduction of bleaker notes as Falstaff faces his own mortality and the pathos of his response to Hal’s final rejection (“I know thee not, old man”) complete a definitive portrayal of one of Shakespeare’s greatest creations.

Alex Hassell makes Hal’s coming of age convincing, notably in the culmination of his friendship with Poins (the excellent Sam Marks).

This is the weakest of the three plays in terms of structure and director Gregory Doran’s pacing is less certain than in the previous chapter – a few judicious cuts wouldn’t hurt. The Gloucestershire scenes are very funny, with a terrific double act from Oliver Ford Davies as Shallow and Jim Hooper as Silence.

However, the knockabout farce treatment of the bawdy scenes in Eastcheap, with Antony Byrne’s over-the-top Pistol and Emma King’s strident Doll Tearsheet becomes tiresome, as do the seemingly endless monologues from Sarah Parks’ Mistress Quickly.

Henry V is a far more upbeat affair, packed with action, patriotic fervour and broad comedy (the splendidly politically incorrect send-ups of the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish, not to mention the French, still resonate today).