Player Kings

'Robert Icke has an uncanny ability to get to the psychological heart of a classic text. [This is] a terrific take on one of the greatest plays ever written'

'A national epic of power-play, racing from tavern to court and field of conflict. It's as propulsive as The Crown... heart-stopping... a must-witness'

'Robert Icke, the neon-intellect, rapid-action director, has spliced together the two separate plays of Henry IV to make an epic portrait... striking and unsentimental... devastating'

'Unforgettable... brings out the subtleties and violence of Shakespeare's plays'

'An incisive and intelligent adaptation... This rich, vivid and visceral version of Shakespeare's Henry IV is at once a skewering of the mythology of Englishness and patriotism, a shrewd overview of the current state of the nation and a piece of premium classical theatre... all conveyed with pin-sharp clarity and an arresting immediacy... Icke delineates the oppositions that Shakespeare set up without labouring the point or simplifying the characters’ complex humanity'

'Richly complex and thrilling'

'A luxurious feast... full of verve and pathos... Icke is known for his thrilling reinventions or rewrites of classics. Here he neatly streamlines the patriarchal power struggles of part I, by turns raucous and violent, then prunes the waffling jokes and rueful diminuendo of part II... He makes clear how these plays speak to our times'

'Icke brings his usual immediacy and accessibility to Shakespeare's story'

'Inventive and entertaining... It showcases Falstaff's relationship with Prince Hal but leaves intact the frame of the play'

'Marvellous... connects comedy to drama with absolute precision... dramatic intensity topped off with a wonderful coup de théâtre... power and poignancy'

'Assured... Icke introduces some masterful interventions – one towards the end of act one bringing forth audible gasps from the audience'

'Captivating... a great Shakespeare adaptation with plenty of modern twists'

'Extraordinary... Robert Icke has taken Shakespeare's two Henry IV plays and fused them into an epic thriller... like bingeing a moreish Netflix drama... a lucid telling of a knotty story... Long may Icke reign'

'Iconoclastic... a streamlined but full-bodied adaptation... Four hundred years old, Shakespeare's history plays conjure spine tingling new force for the 21st century'

'Robert Icke has done it again... he shows once more his talent for creating bold adaptations that are masterfully larger than life in their intensity and drama... Player Kings is an epic that lasts well over three hours and still has the audience gripped and wanting more'

'Magnificent... an intelligent, fast-paced modern take... wonderful'