The Hollow Crown rises again. Four years on from the first suite of striking televisual adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays, the BBC continue their
Shakespeare Lives season by completing the set. For theatregoers, it has been a ripe time of it - Trevor Nunn reviving
The Wars of the Roses late last year and the excellent Toneelgroep Amsterdam bringing their streamlined version
Kings of War to the Barbican just last month - but as you'll see, the common thread is one of adaptation, opportunities to see the three parts of Henry VI as they are remain few and far between.
And so it proves here. Though this is entitled
The Hollow Crown - The Wars of the Roses: 1. Henry VI Part 1, Ben Power and Dominic Cooke have compressed the three plays into two parts and it's hard to argue against it really - there's plenty here to sink your teeth into (and get your head around). Emasculated by lord protector the Duke of Gloucester (a solid Hugh Bonneville, displaying as much range as he ever does), Tom Sturridge's Henry VI finds himself an uncertain king, a querulous youth who bends whichever way the wind blows strongest in his court, riven by dynastic rivalry.