King Charles III (play)

King Charles III (play)
Written by Mike Bartlett
Date premiered 2014
Genre Drama
Setting A flat in England

King Charles III is a 2014 play in blank verse by Mike Bartlett. It made its world premiere at the Almeida Theatre, London, in April 2014 and centres on the accession and reign of King Charles III, the possible regnal name of the real Charles, Prince of Wales, and limiting the freedom of the press after the News International phone hacking scandal.

Production history

Its premiere production was at the Almeida Theatre from 3 April to 31 May 2014, directed by Rupert Goold.[1] Charles was played by Tim Pigott-Smith,[2] whilst the cast also includes Margot Leicester as Camilla,[3] Oliver Chris as Prince William, Lydia Wilson as Catherine, Richard Goulding as Prince Harry,[4] Adam James as prime minister and Nicholas Rowe as leader of the opposition.[5] A typical performance ran for two hours and 45 minutes, including one interval.

The production transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre in September 2014 for an initial three-month run,[6] later announcing an extension to the end of January 2015.[7] Due to sustaining a broken collar bone, Tim Pigott Smith was replaced for 5 weeks by Miles Richardson.[8]

Plot

Charles and his family gather following the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. He then holds his first weekly audience with the Prime Minister, principally discussing a new bill for statutory regulation of the press. This has passed the House of Commons and the House of Lords and is only awaiting Charles' royal assent to become law. Charles, however, expresses doubts that the law restricts the freedom of the press too much and would allow governments to censor the news and prevent legitimate uncovering of any abuse of power by the government. He asks the prime minister for alterations to the bill but he refuses and the two part, as the Leader of the Opposition arrives for a weekly meeting with Charles, an innovation the new king has introduced. The Leader of the Opposition expresses his own doubts on the Bill but states he sees little alternative but for Charles to sign.

In parallel, Prince Harry has begun a relationship with a republican named Jess and both Charles and Prince William have seen the ghost of Princess Diana, promising each man that he will become "the greatest king of all". The following day Charles' butler arrives at 10 Downing Street, hand-delivering the Bill with 'Assent Reserved' written in place of Charles' signature. The Prime Minister holds a crisis meeting with the Leader of the Opposition and then goes alone to try to convince Charles to sign, but he continues to refuse. The Prime Minister then threatens to pass a new law bypassing the royal assent and then pass the press law, but Charles then dissolves parliament before he can bring either of these plans into effect.

Protests begin across the country and especially in London. Charles increases the army guard at Buckingham Palace, offers his protection to Jess (who the media have made the centre of a sex scandal) and agrees to Harry's wish to become a commoner. The Duchess of Cambridge plans a solution, which turns out to be William publicly offering himself as a mediator between parliament and his father. He announces this at a press conference without his father's knowledge and consent. Seeing this as a betrayal, Charles reacts angrily but ultimately finds himself forced to abdicate in favour of William, who will sign the press bill and restore the status quo between king and parliament. The play concludes with Harry's rejection of Jess, and William and Kate's coronation as king and queen.

References

  1. ↑ Almeida Theatre - King Charles III
  2. ↑ Curtis, Nick (2014-04-03). "What would happen if Prince Charles was made king?". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  3. ↑ Sarah Hemming, "King Charles III, Almeida Theatre, London", Financial Times (London), April 11, 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014
  4. ↑ Billington, Michael (2014-04-11). "King Charles III – a flawed premise but royally entertaining". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  5. ↑ Charles Spencer, "King Charles III, review: 'spectacular, gripping and wickedly entertaining'", Telegraph (London), 11 April 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014
  6. ↑ Mitford, Oliver (2014-05-28). "King Charles III to transfer to Wyndham’s Theatre in the Autumn". Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  7. ↑ "King Charles III extends to January 2015". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Tim Pigott-Smith bows out of London play due to injury". Express Newspapers. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.