![Arts and Ideas show](https://d3dthqtvwic6y7.cloudfront.net/podcast-covers/000/027/144/small/arts-and-ideas.jpg)
Summary: What makes Falstaff, Prince Hal's fat, boastful and cowardly companion so irresistible to writers and composers? The character appears in several Shakespeare plays and in musical works by Verdi, Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Salieri. Samira Ahmed talks to Timothy West and Desmond Barrit about their experience of playing one of Shakespeare's greatest characters.