Henry IV Part 1

MusicOMH“Roger Allam’s Falstaff is already knocking on the door of greatness...” Strengths abound in Dominic Dromgoole’s new production of Shakespeare’s great double bill (the first at the reconstituted Globe), chief among them Roger Allam’s extraordinary performance as Falstaff...

Time Out“Roger Allam is superb...” Shakespeare's 'Henry IV' plays are as great in girth and as complex in construction as their most famous character, Sir John Falstaff - and as witty, too, although if ever a drama exposed the dangers of verbal seduction, this is it...

Guardian“The central performances carry a production with gleeful high spirits...” As is too often the case at the Globe, some of the playing is lacklustre and the verse-speaking doubtful. There are dull swaths where you wish Dromgoole had got out his scissors....

The Stage“It’s a testament to the Globe experience...” An exhilarating, powerful and poignant voyage through time and history that also connects vividly with us today. Dominic Dromgoole firmly locates it in period dress, with the balconies of the Globe adorned by flags of family coats of arms...

Whatsonstage.com“Follow the bard’s advice and hop along to the Globe...” Director Dominic Dromgoole plumbs deeper into the Jerusalem-style mystical, mythical soul of England. Oliver Cotton booms tetchily as the old king, William Gaunt shivers wheezily as old Shallow, Danny Lee Wynter is eye-catching...

this is london“Too much of a good thing from Henry IV...” Allam and Parker play off each other with joyous ease, reaching their zenith in the lovely scene in which Hal, high-fiving the groundlings in his joy at getting the upper hand, revels in revealing the extent of Falstaff’s cowardice...

The Independent“This is the Shakespeare masterpiece...” The unbuttoned, sometimes casual, style at the Globe suits these plays. Allam speaks the role as beautifully as any actor in memory, including the late Robert Stephens. He's more knightly than Stephens, less mountainously corrupt...

The Telegraph“It may be one of this theatre’s finest achievements...” Roger Allam strikes me as the best Falstaff since Robert Stephens played the role for the RSC almost 20 years ago and in some ways he is even better. He delivers the great speeches, and Falstaff’s fantastical lies, with great aplomb...

New Statesman“Not yet reviewed”

Financial Times“Not yet reviewed”