HENRY 4 at State Theatre Centre of Western Australia

King Henry IV risked everything for the crown. But his son doesn't seem to share the same ambition. Instead, he'd rather hang around with petty criminals and lowlife drunkards. But when the King's former supporters stage a rebellion against him, we're drawn into a sprawling tale of adventure, ambition and political intrigue.

John Bell directs this new production and stars as Shakespeare's greatest comic creation, Falstaff. Lord of misrule, life of the party, corrupter of youth. And his Australian take on English history, with its monarchy, class system and civil unrest teeters on the edge of anarchy.

This age-old story of a rebellious son and a domineering father is bursting with dramatic tension interspersed with riotous, bawdy comedy, music and violence set to recapture the boisterous atmosphere of Shakespeare's Globe for a modern audience.