After 22 years the king of Asia, Antiochus, presumed dead in battle, returns to claim his throne. But in Antiochus' absence, power in the Middle East has shifted. The Roman Empire is now dominant and its ambassador to Carthage, Titus Flaminius, is determined that things are going to stay that way. He understands the threat that this returned king represents to a nervous superpower in an unstable region, and is determined to quash it by fair means or foul. Antiochus must be discredited, and countries that harbour him punished.
It all sounds so familiar and modern that it comes as a surprise to discover that Philip Massinger's play is getting its first performances for almost 400 years. As a political document it is fascinating, but as a good night out it leaves something to be desired. It will thrill academics and theatre historians, and make the frivolous like myself feel glad to have seen it and even gladder to think they will never have to see it again.
However, the play could not be better staged than it is in Josie Rouke's user-friendly, beautifully lit production. There is a richness and gravity in this production's simplicity. But although the evening is thick with plot and politics, it is thin on poetry, and some cutting of the repetition would help. As Flaminius, William Houston - the RSC's resident panto villain - seizes his moments; Barry Stanton's Berecinthius has a nice line in gallows humour, and Peter de Jersey's Antiochus is dignity in rags.
· Until February 11. Box office: 0870 060 6632.
