The Hollow Crown

Henry IV, Part 1: I think sometimes when us Brits moan about the BBC licence fee we are apt to forget that following in the tradition of the excellent "I Claudius" and "Elizabeth R" it can produce some of the finest drama to be seen on the small or the big screen. This is the first part of the comical drama depicting the start of the latter stages of the reign of England's King Henry IV (Jeremy Irons) largely from the perspective of his wastrel son "Hal" (Tim Hiddleston), his sidekick "Poins" (David Dawson) and the inveterately inebriated and shrewdly opportunistic "Falstaff" (Simon Russell Beale). The King is facing some discord from the north of his Kingdom, with the impertinent "Hotspur" (Joe Armstrong) declining to present his hostages from his recently successful cause against the warlike Scots to the King to ransom. It's a tit-for-tat despute that will require the Prince to set down his beer cup and prove to his father and those sceptical at court that he can rise to the occasion and prove his worthiness to succeed to the throne. Sir Richard Eyre has assembled a fantastic cast here to tell us a story of revolution, betrayal and duplicity and none are better than Beale who dominates with his avuncular and lively persona. The engaging Hiddleston successfully manages to mix his own character's traits of wilfulness and debauchery skilfully as it evolves into something just a little more, well, grown up. Sir Richard has also managed to retain much of the intensity and joy of the original earthy dialogue between the characters, again well epitomised by Julie Walters' sparing appearances as innkeeper "Quickly" and Dawson's mischievous "Poins". It's dark, violent, boozy and gritty and it illustrates the perilous times compellingly. Roll on part two...

Henry IV, Part 2: Though this hasn't quite the characterful potency of the first part of the Henry IV story, it's still a compelling couple of hours that depicts the decline of one king and the ascension of another. Henry IV (Jeremy Irons) and his court have slightly revised their opinions of the young "Hal" (Tom Hiddleston) following his defeat of Hotspur, but he is beginning to ail and those warring forces in the north of England are scenting a chance to avenge themselves. Meantime, Falstaff (Simon Russell Beale) has earned the enmity of the Lord Chief Justice (Geoffrey Palmer) who deems him - not unreasonably - as a bad influence on the young Prince, and charges him to recruit a troop of soldiers to ride to face the rebels. Suffice to say those he does recruit, armed with wooden pitchforks and suffering from disease and malnutrition, don't quite cut it, nor do his overheard and reckless words about the prince to his lover "Doll" (Maxine Peake) stand him in much stead, either. Perhaps his luck is running out? As to the war, well a bit of nimble duplicity spares the nation from another great conflict, but this is all occurring as their King begins to lose his grasp on his crown, and Henry V must be prepared to rule - ruthlessly casting off those upon whom he had depended and who had come to depend upon him. Falstaff features extensively here and though SRB's contributions are sterling, I found his character - without it's joviality and debauched nature - a little less endearing and that's a testament to the acting of a man who seems to be in the skin of his charge. Hiddleston doesn't fare quite so well, with the glint gone from his eyes his acting struggles a little to deliver a more earnest Prince Henry. Still, the adaptation from Sir Richard Eyre, a slew of formidable supporting artists and some superb production design really does present us with an entertaining and character-driven drama that brings Shakespeare's story of politics, power and patronage into the 21st century resoundingly well.

Henry V: With Henry V now firmly on the throne, this drama moves on to challenge not only the robustness of his character but also Tom Hiddleston's characterisation - and I didn't really love the latter. His success in the Henry IV stories was as much to do with his evolving personable playboy persona accompanied by some solidly entertaining efforts from the likes of Simon Russell Beale and Julie Walters. Now he has the top job, the political intrigues at home and abroad take over the story, the humour deserts it and we find ourself in territory that has been frequently covered before. The gist of the plot sees the king rather manoeuvred into a battle with Charles VI (Lambert Wilson) over some claims to the French throne that derived from Edward III of England. It turns out to be the Dauphin (Edward Akrout) who is the main antagonist, but his is just one of the difficulties the new king must face asserting his authority and learning that difficult art of knowing whom to trust. What do stand out here are the battle scenes. The stunt arranging, execution and production design deliver impressively with what must have been a modest television budget and limited numbers - director Thea Sharrock does not resort to endless CGI to pad things out visually. The script adaptation is succinct and effective but somehow this is just isn't so hard hitting. Perhaps that's because the story and characters are so much better known, or perhaps just because the star here hasn't the gravitas to deliver the part compellingly? It's still a very watchable history but perhaps more of a shallow crown than an hollow one.