The year is 1786. George III is King. King of England. He has a loving wife; a nation of subjects, a loyal parliament, and the world kneels at his feet.And all is not as it seems.
.jpg)
The first tour since its initial production in 1991.When his behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and rumours circulate that he has addressed an oak tree as the King of Prussia, doctors are called in, Parliament falters, and The Prince Regent manoeuvres himself into power.
Exploring the very nature of duty and kingship, this epic play probes the ties that bind us together as family, as society and as a nation. Drama, dangerous politics and English history collide in a rollercoaster ride where the health of the nation is at the mercy of the mental health of one man.
From the hand of national treasure Alan Bennett, the author behind The History Boys and Talking Heads, this marks the first touring production of the play since the original award-winning production
Director: Alastair Whatley
Co-Producers: Adrian McDougall, Max Lewendel, Alastair Whatley
Set Designer: Victoria Spearing
Cost. Design: Fiona Davis
LX Designer: Alan Valentine
Sound Design: Edward Lewis
Projectionist: Will Reynolds
Touring PM: Caroline Saunders
CSM: Zachary Holton
Asst PM: Louise Ody
Cost Asst: Margarita Pokhrel, Bronwen Thompson, Natasha Freeman, Louise Sullivan, Samantha Jones, Laura Hockey, Natalie Moggridge
Casting Dir.: Anne Vosser
Fight Director: Dan Styles
George III: Simon Ward
Queen: Susan Penhaligon
Prince of Wales: Alastair Whatley
Duke of York: Garrett Moore
Pembroke: Portia Booroff
Greville: Robert Curtis
Baker: Ian Marr
Pitt/Pepys: Jamie Hinde
Fox/Warren: Courtney Spence
Willis/Dundas: Knight Mantell
Fitzroy: Rhys King
Thurlow: Zachary Holton
Papandiek: Kate Colebrook
From the hand of national treasure Alan Bennett, author of The History Boys and Talking Heads, The Madness of George III is a brilliant exploration of duty and kingship, an epic play about the ties that bind us together as family, as a society and as a nation. Gripping drama, dangerous politics and irreverent comedy collide in a rollercoaster ride where the health of the nation is at the mercy of the mental health of one man.
Director Alastair Whatley, said about the production “Alan Bennett’s play is a violent excess of regal pomp, royal comedy and epic high drama set against the backdrop of a fast changing political landscape. It combines epic scenes of court life with intensely private and personal moments of very public figures. There is so much material with which to conjure, it would be easy to get lost in our attempt to navigate such fulsome waters, but the brief I will be giving the actors is to focus on the telling of this wonderful story that richly deserves all the hyperbole one can throw at it, tell it simply and tell it clearly and then get out of the way and let our greatest living dramatist tell this amazing story in his own inimitable way.”
Starring Simon Ward (Young Winston-BAFTA & Golden Globe nominated, All Creatures Great And Small, Judge John Deed and The Tudors) and Susan Penhaligon (The Land That Time Forgot, No Sex Please We’re British, Bouquet of Barbed Wire and Emmerdale), this marks the first national tour of the play since the original award-winning production by the National Theatre in 1991 and the subsequent hit 1994 film starring Nigel Hawthorne.
Madness of George III is directed by Alastair Whatley (Journey’s End), with design by Victoria Spearing, lighting by Alan Valentine and Costume design by Fiona Davis.
