Ian Rankin You had family, loyalty, and blood feuds and England's place in Europe and all these tussles going on. There was a very Mandelsonian prelate from the Pope but all the time the seriousness of all this history was being undercut by humour. It was a very funny play to watch. He hasn't changed the text and there is a lot of slapstick between the lines. It's entirely theatrical, it's not narrative at all.
Every character has their moment.
Arthur's scene, when he is pleading for his life is suddenly like a great window opening on something very basic. That's one of the most remarkable scenes I have ever seen. This is a superb production of a remarkable play, with some of the best ensemble acting I have ever seen. The words were beautifully spoken and entirely comprehensible, and the story was so relevantly contemporary that I could have believed it written yesterday. But I felt it was a totally unoriginal script with a predictable plot, and the ending just fizzles out.