Leading up to Christmas there is perhaps no better thing to do than see a play about a family getting together at Christmas and ending up arguing, fighting, threatening each other with knives, offering to marry off their lover to their son, imprisoning their three sons in a dungeon and preparing for a war with a French guy. Yes, that sounds like every bodies average Christmas doesn't it! The family in question in James Goldman's 1966 play The Lion In Winter is Henry II's, featuring his three sons and his sort of wife Queen Eleanor. Throw into the mix Henry's lover Princess Alais and King Philip of France and you have events and family maneuverings that even Eastenders would't go near. Thankfully for this time of year, Goldman's play is a high comedy take on this dysfunctional family, often extremely and indeed surprisingly funny. There is also with the political wranglings and language used, much in common with that fantastic series Yes Minister including a ...