55 Days review, Hampstead Theatre

Mark Gatiss has a way with a wig. As King Charles I in Howard Brenton's history play, 55 Days, he conveys his innermost feelings with an elegant flick, an anxious tug, or an unthinking caress of his curling red tresses. In stark contrast to the king's ribboned shoes and velvet and lace finery, Douglas Henshall as Oliver Cromwell is a blond George Galloway lookalike, scrubbed and anonymous in plain dark suits and shoes. When the divine ruler, claiming divine rights, meets the god-fearing puritan reformer across a courtroom, the final battle starts.

Charlie's cant

Directed by Brenton's favourite collaborator, Howard Davies, the play is set on a traverse stage running across the auditorium. This limits what can be done with the staging. There's a lot of door action and it's heavy on walking, talking, setting up and setting off. That said, the movement during and between scenes is water tight, as is the lighting, which is spectacular.

Only in the second half, when the court case begins, is there a real sense of the drama, of a cat and mouse game between two evenly matched protagonists still besting each other. We all know the king cops it, but he isn't going to go without a fight. Brenton gets us to the block with inventive wit and verve.

In conclusion: History fans get full value from this play, but those who're only interested in the stellar cast should be warned it takes a long while to get going. It's all male and very grey, but Gatiss is glorious and Henshall dourly appealing.

References
Hampstead Theatre tickets

Hampstead Theatre is on Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London NW3 3EU. This production is now over.