"There is no other time when the history of the world depended on the courage of one man."

So said Stalin of Winston Churchill when, in May 1940, he took Britain away from the brink of suing for peace with Hitler to continuing to wage war.

It was a decision which certainly shaped Britain's and Europe's future, and probably that of the free world.

Three Days In May analyses how Churchill reached that decision and, more importantly, dragged his war cabinet – in some cases kicking and screaming – with him.

Although he had the backing of the Labour leaders in the cabinet, he somehow had to win over the minds – if not the hearts – of the arch appeasers Neville Chamberlain and Lord Halifax.

And it was ironic that, thanks to some behind-the-scenes machinations on Churchill's part, Chamberlain – the man whose appeasement policy had brought us the "peace for our time" debacle – was the very person who backed Churchill, thereby eclipsing Halifax.

And it is the confrontations between Churchill and Halifax that form the very crux of this production.

Both are superbly cast. Jeremy Clyde as Halifax is excellent and highly credible. His reasons for wanting to sue for peace appear to be born out of the most honourable of motives; he believes that by following this path millions of lives may be saved. But he is no match for Churchill's political nous nor his unwavering belief that to fight on is the only option.

And so to Warren Clarke as Churchill. It is a remarkable tour de force. He has the voice; he has the stooped gait; he has the cigars. But this is no imitation of the man. Clarke IS Churchill.

When he addresses the Commons, the decision to fight on having been reached, we weren't listening to Clarke the actor, we were listening to Churchill the inspirational leader of our nation. For God's sake, I wanted to take on Hitler myself after hearing this.

There's not a weak link in the production. James Alper as Jock Colville helpfully provides the historical context while Robert Demeger is a wonderfully indecisive Chamberlain.

Michael Sheldon is the modest Clement Attlee – he had plenty to be modest about, said Churchill – while Labour's deputy leader Arthur Greenwood is played in a no-nonsense style by Dicken Ashworth.

But inevitably it's Clarke who steals the show – just as Churchill, thankfully, did seven decades ago.

Three Days In May runs until Saturday.