All is far from well

All's Well That Ends Well starts with a death and ends with a birth. In between, Helena, a humble maid in love with her aristocratic stepbrother, Bertram, works to fulfil a number of conditions he has demanded before he will recognise her as his wife. In this curious fairytale, love makes Helena noble, compared with the 'noble' Bertram, who even by the end, possesses little virtue at all.

The play's symbolic purpose partly results in an absence of psychological depth: there is no discernible reason why Helena should fall for the haughty, uncharismatic Bertram, for example. Jamie Glover's Bertram fails to suggest that these characteristics are merely the product of youthful arrogance and that he will soon mature into better things. Claudie Blakley's desperately sweet Helena enjoys a far more satisfying relationship with Dame Judi Dench's movingly compassionate Countess.

Gregory Doran brings his usual humour to the Parolles subplot, but Stephen Brimson Lewis's chilly set design never lets one forget the play's sombre tone. Doran sides with the play's difficulties rather than resolves them: the play ends with Bertram and Helena staring at each other distantly, suggesting that all is far from well.

Until April 24, Gielgud Theatre, 33 Shaftesbury Avenue W1, Tue to Sat 7.30pm, Thu and Sat mats 2.30pm, £15 to £42.50 (limited availability). Tel: 020 7494 5065. Tube: Piccadilly Circus

All's Well That Ends Well