The play that changed my life: ‘Michael Gambon’s offstage anarchy as Falstaff made the show better’

When Elliot Levey was cast in Henry IV, Parts One and Two, he didn’t expect water-bombing, corpsing and a character redefined by new teethIn 2005, I was in my late 20s and just getting going as an actor. Nick Hytner cast me in his production of Henry IV Parts One and Two, with Michael Gambon as Falstaff. It was front-page news: the expectations on him were so ridiculous. And it didn’t quite work, at first.My central role was Westmoreland, but Nick had sort of amalgamated him with several boring lords, normally played by kindly old veteran actors, and “sexed” it up with a young cast. So as a young actor I had an assortment of funny little cameos, working with Gambon. Continue reading...

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