Elizabeth I was so sensitive about Henry IV – the usurper who dethroned Richard II some 200 years earlier – that she locked a historian in the Tower simply for writing a book about him.

So Shakespeare had to tread carefully in tackling the subject dramatically: rather than focusing on the monarch (and possibly giving Elizabeth’s subjects ideas) he concentrated instead on everyone except Henry IV, from his wastrel son, the rebels plotting against him and, of course, the magnificent Falstaff.

Antony Sher’s rollicking portrayal of the aged knight was a masterclass in perfection, with a voice once liltingly posh, then gurglingly drunk.

The reason Shakespeare is still performed is not just the beauty of the language and writing, but also because the characters and emotions are just as recognisable to a 21st century audience as they were to 17th century ones.

While Hal (Alex Hassell) puts aside his carousing to help his father battle his foes, Falstaff doesn’t see the point.

His cynical speech about honour on the battlefield could have been about the recent unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Does honour set a broken leg or benefit the soldier who died? Why bother amassing a decent army when they are all going to be killed, or fighting when you can play dead and walk away from the battle unscathed?

This is a play of spellbinding storytelling and magnificent performances. Beg, borrow or steal to get a ticket, it’s an unmissable show.