Stephen Boxer as Hobbes nicely alternates solidly magisterial with frantic losing-it old man, and Jack Laskey makes a fine fist of the nervous boy genius turned overweening, drug-addled bag of ego, Robert Hooke.
Peter Shorey really didn't make it as Cromwell, however, and Asher Ali as the king is all over the place. Amanda Hadingue made a decent enough fist of Robert Boyle, but just why that character was cross-dressing, when none of the others were (beyond a bit of street byplay with Rotten), was never even hinted at.
None of this was helped by a script and a staging that swayed awkwardly between modern-dress and cod historic, and that couldn't decide whether to go for the cheap laughs of anachronistic language or make a serious bid for Shakespearean wit.
There's a warning here for any playwright looking to step into Shakespeare's shoes. The Bard might manage to romp through the Wars of the Roses, might cope with the complexities of intrigue in the Roman Senate, but basing a play on the real events in such a setting — writing what's truly a History Play — is a serious challenge indeed. The standard has been set. If you can't live up to it, it is probably better not to try.
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