The authorship of this "lost" history play has long been disputed, but it is now confidently ascribed to Shakespeare. This production marks its Royal Shakespeare Company premiere. But I doubt it will be slipping into the repertoire to be revived as frequently as the other history plays. This is Shakespeare having an off day at the creative coalface.
That said, there are moments, particularly in Edward's futile attempts to bed the married Countess of Salisbury, when the play sings like a little kettle. "His eye, in her eye lost." Now isn't that the most brilliant description of falling in love, or in Edward's case, in lust.
Anthony Clark's production is at its best in the more human first half, which is dominated by the attempts of David Rintoul's ruthless Edward- a cold man who knows what he wants and is used to getting it - to seduce the countess. She is played by Caroline Faber with a simple directness that is initially slightly disconcerting but eventually winning. Faber's performance is entirely in tune with Patrick Connellan's design for this part of the play, which has a naive fairy-tale quality with its turreted cloth castle and golden tree with a single perfect apple.
Up until the interval, things go swimmingly. You wonder why the RSC has not done this play before. After the interval, you find out why. Unfortunately for the audience, Edward doesn't just want the Countess of Salisbury, he also wants the whole of France - so the second half degenerates into lots of declamatory speeches, battles and stand-offs between Edward and the French King John. It feels like two little boys having a playground tiff and putting two fingers up at each other. Once again, it works best when the human element is introduced: the grim reality of war rather than its pomp and bombast is shown when the local French people are seen fleeing from the advancing English army. They are dressed as people might have been after the fall of France in 1940.
I came away feeling rather pleased to have had the opportunity to see Edward III, and rather pleased that I probably won't have to see it again for quite a long time. But there is no doubt that Clark and his cast showcase the play superbly. Rintoul gives a brave performance as the coldly posturing king, and Jamie Glover an attractive one as the Prince of Wales - as ruthless as dad, but with added charm.
· Until January 24. Box office: 0870 890 1105.
