David Haigives the performance of his life as King George III in the West End premiere of Alan Bennett's smash-hit comedy The Madness Of George III.
Originally premiering at the National Theatre in 1991, the play went on to become an international theatrical sensation and was made into an award-winning film. Rarely performed because of its huge cast, this new production took the public and critics by storm when it opened at the Theatre Royal Bath in August 2011 and now transfers to the Apollo Theatre for a strictly limited eleven week season.
In spite of a catalogue of accomplishments - he founded the Royal Academy of Arts, was a passionate advocate of science, literature and music and fathered fifteen children - George III is best remembered today for his bouts of unbridled lunacy. Subjected to the appallingly cruel medical treatment of the day and assailed by power struggles between politicians and his scheming son, George remains throughout an intensely sympathetic character - melancholy, moving, witty...and finally triumphant.
Transferred to the West End having been staged by the Peter Hall Company at the Theatre Royal, Bath, Alan Bennett’s 1991 historical drama tells the story of George’s reign during his deteriorating health and personal relationships, while displaying the various medical efforts to cure his lunatic mental state.
Nigel Hawthorne’s 1991 performance in the title role, described by Whatsonstage.com chief critic Michael Coveney as "defining", set the bar extremely high for David Haig, but critical opinion proves his performance was close to perfection.
"Well, it’s okay, 'what what,' but Alan Bennett’s dramatic anatomy of King George’s painful business of sitting on the throne proves a tough call in the West End. The play is hard to follow and the task of matching the historical story to contemporary application elusive … It’s still a great pleasure to sit through … This in no way detracts from the brilliance of David Haig in the title role … Haig, an outstanding character actor who still needs a sharper profile with the public, claims the part as his own, and finds fresh and fruity diversions within. He plays frustration better than anyone; and he’s effortlessly funny even when the play – oh dear, I wish it were - isn’t … Christopher Luscombe’s brisk and well-cast production… is a testament to that venue’s on-going creative and re-defining policy … It’s an enormously clever play, I now see, without being a very compelling one. But it’s a more than decent addition to the West End list, and we should be so lucky to have Alan Bennett still writing for the theatre when so many lesser writers of his generation, and after, turn up their noses at Shaftesbury Avenue.
Libby Purves The Times ★★★★★
"That we never lose that affection, through all the horrid humiliation that follows, is the mark of one of those treasurable moments when a familiar, well-liked actor rises to a new level of real greatness. Cosily uxorious with his sweet tubby Queen (Beatie Edney), testy with the morose Pitt (Nicholas Rowe), Haig moves seamlessly between comic absurdity and a still Shakespearean dignity in torment … What is brilliant in Haig’s interpretation is that the same tension, whether didactic or crazy, runs through both his states. Alan Bennett’s play became iconic with Nigel Hawthorne’s performance under Nicholas Hytner, and that memory will not fade. Yet Christopher Luscombe’s direction for the Theatre Royal Bath makes it anew. It is rare to meet a production so flawless. The rapid pace is unimpeded by Janet Bird’s diagrammatically simple old-gold set, suggesting palatial spaciousness with empty frames … In the huge cast every personality stands out, from the nervously kindly pages to Sir Lucas Pepys the doctor, forever gazing raptly into a chamber pot. Superb."
"Awfully good stuff it is, indeed, in Christopher Luscombe's clever revival. With help from Janet Bird's design, with its rows of empty picture frames suspended above the stage, it reminds us that Bennett is not writing a royal Downton Abbey, but a play exploring appearance and reality. The entire edifice of court, government and country is based on an illusion: the danger lies not in the king's madness, but in the revelation that the poor, shivering creature sitting blistered, bled, purged and wrapped in a straitjacket, is only a man after all ... There are times when the evening feels a little schematic, and the dialogue forced, but this is intelligent, witty and moving West End fare with a big, compassionate heart. It features a most extraordinary performance from David Haig, an actor who radiates sweetness, terror, comedy and tragedy, often in the same line. The play is everything because of him."
"It's delightful to report that, from the very first sparkling line, David Haig seizes upon this once-in-a-lifetime gift of a part from Alan Bennett and makes it his own. This cherishable actor, whose wonderful manner is warm and lugubrious by turn, is going to re-mint the role for a new generation of theatre-goers … He's troubled both physically and mentally by his affliction - and by the barbarous medical practices of the day - and Haig wrings every last drop of pathos out of this grievous reversal of fortune … Christopher Luscombe's swift-flowing production boasts some strong supporting turns, from Beatie Edney as loyal Queen Charlotte (or "Mrs King," as her husband calls her) and Nicholas Rowe as Prime Minister Pitt. Pitt is desperate to stop his administration falling due to the machinations of Christopher Keegan's fool of a Prince of Wales, anxious to be proclaimed Regent. Royally good.
"If you have tears, prepare to shed them now… there are many moments that cut at the heart like a knife … Nigel Hawthorne scored one of the greatest successes of his career in the role of Bennett’s King George III. It seemed an impossible act to follow, but David Haig proves every inch Hawthorne’s equal in a performance of extraordinary emotion, tenderness and humour. This is one of those rare and thrilling evenings when a very good actor suddenly moves up a gear into indisputable greatness … Haig marvelously captures the wit, the impatience and the eccentric likeability of the monarch … Even in dark scenes there are moments of black comedy, beautifully caught by Haig, as his language turns scatological and he develops a disastrous crush on a lady in waiting … the actor holds nothing back … The play isn’t perfect. The complex political background never comes fully to life, though there is a delicious comic turn from Christopher Keegan as an obese and odious Prince of Wales … But Christopher Luscombe’s elegant, lucid, and deeply felt production grips throughout and Haig is simply magnificent, both in his madness and his deeply moving recovery."
Well, it’s okay, “what what,” but Alan Bennett’s dramatic anatomy of King George’s painful business of sitting on the throne proves a tough call in the West End. The play is hard to follow and the task of matching the historical story to contemporary application elusive.
It’s still a great pleasure to sit through, though I honestly don’t think that half the people in the audience understood what was going on. This in no way detracts from the brilliance of David Haig in the title role, making of old “Farmer George” a sympathetic buffoon with a bowel condition and a canny eye on the plotting politicians.
Was it porphyria – purple urine and blocked motions – or was it sheer frustration at political shenanigans with Pitt and Fox that drove the monarch mad and monstrous like King Lear in crinkly tights and tunic?
This was the defining role, twenty years ago (and in the subsequent film), of the late Nigel Hawthorne’s career; Haig, an outstanding character actor who still needs a sharper profile with the public, claims the part as his own, and finds fresh and fruity diversions within. He plays frustration better than anyone; and he’s effortlessly funny even when the play – oh dear, I wish it were -- isn’t.
Christopher Luscombe’s brisk and well-cast production hails from the Theatre Royal, Bath, and is a testament to that venue’s on-going creative and re-defining policy, a smack in the chops to most major regional reps while maintaining an eye on the commercial market.
Nicholas Hytner’s National Theatre production of 1991 – hey day, what larks -- opened with a golden staircase and a blast of Handel. Luscombe and designer Janet Bird cleverly modify this to a backdrop of gold leaf panels and an almost constant soundtrack of Handelian baroque decoration.
The play becomes infinitely more interesting when it closes in on George’s supposed “lunacy” with bonkers advice and diagnosis from Madhav Sharma’s Dr Warren and Clive Francis’s incisive Dr Willis, though Thomas Wheatley keeps butting in with homespun philosophy as Lord Thurlow in a snowy white poodle wig.
It’s an enormously clever play, I now see, without being a very compelling one. But it’s a more than decent addition to the West End list, and we should be so lucky to have Alan Bennett still writing for the theatre when so many lesser writers of his generation, and after, turn up their noses at Shaftesbury Avenue.
I gasped as I read in the programme that it was 20 years since this was first produced at the NT. I suppose the need for a cast of 24 and a mighty fine actor to play George III must be the reasons for a lack of revivals, so well done Theatre Royal Bath, who originated this production, for the opportunity.
I have to confess it isn’t the masterpiece I remembered, but it’s still a good play. Alan Bennett tells the story of a period of madness for the king, during which he gets a whole series of excruciating but conflicting treatments from four doctors (who in reality don’t have a clue) and Tory PM William Pitt almost loses office to Whig Charles Fox (with the support of playwright turned MP Sheridan!) whilst the playboy Prince of Wales almost becomes Prince Regent.
It’s a fascinating study of madness, royalty and politics – darker, more disturbing but less funny than I remember. The second act is better than the first, which is slower and a little uneven, but there are some brilliant moments to savour in Christopher Luscombe’s production. With so many scene changes it’s a design challenge, but Janet Bird has captured the period and the regal (though I think the walls with empty picture frames are a mistake).
David Haig is terrific as George III and is in my view the real reason for seeing this revival. His transition from pompous but lovable to manic & disturbed and back again is a tour de force which is always captivating and occasionally thrilling. Perhaps because the character and performance of the King are so dominant, the rest of the ensemble make less impact and few stand out. I did like Christopher Keegan’s Prince of Wales, though it is a touch too much caricature, and Nicholas Rowe’s Pitt.
Haig’s performance will be a highlight of 2012, which is a good enough reason to go, so do!
- Gareth James
22 Feb 12
I sometimes wonder wether the critics go to the same play! This is a superb production, accurately portraying a descent into the cruellest of mental incapacity, and how that is received/or not, by those around. Well done all of you - Alice
08 Feb 12
can only agree 100% with all of the above! - Ruth
08 Feb 12
the energy that David Haig puts into this role is amazing. Loved every minute of it and would thoroughly recommend. - Ann
01 Feb 12
David Haig gives a staggering, mighty and phenomenal performance as George - this is acting of the highest class and calibre! Excellent supporting cast, one of the best plays I've EVER SEEN! Go see! - gem
31 Jan 12
A superb production and as always David Haig relishes in these sort of mad OTT characters and here he really is in top form and hope he gets a nomination for this next year. Beattie Edney also very good as Queen Charlotte and a great supporting cast. - Joe Spiteri
29 Jan 12
This is a production of perfection. David Haig is spell-bindingly magnificent as King George III and is backed up by an excellent cast. Haig begins the play fabulously as a happy ‘Mr King’ who exudes knowledge and authority, before his mind starts abandoning him. The King’s decent into madness is so powerful and brilliantly acted it is truly heart-wrenching, uncomfortable viewing which leaves you squirming in your seat.
The staging is plain yet striking and the music, particularly the use of Handel’s ‘Zadok the Priest’, adds emotion and gravitas to the production. It’s a play which will have you both laughing and bring tears to your eyes .
It received a well deserved standing ovation and (never before experienced in a historical play) a huge round of applause for Haig. The staging, design and most of all acting, comes together perfectly for a stunning piece of theatre. Simply superb. - Ellie
27 Jan 12
Loved it. Five star acting from David and a superb supporting cast. A must see production. - ils
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