A week or two ago, an article in the Evening Post said that the Old Vic's production of parts one and two of Henry IV had been so internationally recognised as to have attracted booking for tickets from as far afield as Canada. 

Part one having been quite superb, then, part two had a lot to live up to, in much the same way as the young Prince Hal has to live up to the triumph of his father, Henry IV's, reign. The theatre, confusingly, didn't seem as full as it had been for part one, yet it seems a shame to leave Hal's story left part way through.

Part two obviously picks up where part one leaves off - the rebellion has been all but killed off, Hotspur, the ringleader, quite literally being killed in battle. The old King Henry, however, is dying, and Prince Hal seems to be calming slightly in his social life, perhaps aware that before long the responsibility of being King of England will be his. 

His former mentor, Falstaff, the lovable drunken rouge of part one, is still going about his normal business - having fun and getting on the nerves of the authorities - but is becoming isolated without realising it from his young friend. This play deals a lot more with the personal circumstances of Hal and Falstaff, which replace part one's central theme of a general social unrest. Battles are out, bargaining for power and favour is in. It seems a more carefully constructed piece than the first part, from the playwright's point of view.

The set and cast are the same as for part one, and are just as good as at first. The set, which in part one formed an imposing backdrop to the battles, in this play seems to enclose the action in a different way (despite being in exactly the same position), focusing attention more. 

The sounds are just as bombastic, the lighting subtle and enhancing the action, and the overall impression is that whilst part one has more of the potentially difficult-to-stage action, the production on this one has been thought out every bit as well in terms of positioning on stage.

The whole, then, is really just as good a production as the first part. The script itself is not quite as entertaining to look at, with the lack of battling and swords clashing, but to observe the torment of Hal and others as Henry IV lies on his deathbed, and the slapstick of the scenes in which Flastaff plays a part is a different kind of dramatic delight. Watch it to see how Hal and Falstaff's stories end, but also as a really very good piece of theatre in its own right.

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