The King's Speech
From: Thursday, 22nd March 2012
To: Saturday, 12 May 2012
Our Review: 
Your Reviews:
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Synopsis
When King Edward VIII abdicates for the love of Wallis Simpson, his terrified younger brother Bertie (Charles Edwards) is thrust into the spotlight and crowned King George VI. In a room at 146 Harley Street, Bertie and his wife Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) meet Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Jonathan Hyde).
Breaking all royal protocol the reluctant King and the maverick Logue embark together on a remarkable journey to correct the King’s debilitating stammer and help him deliver the radio address that will inspire his country on the brink of World War II.
Director Adrian Noble was the artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003. Among myriad directing credits he has helmed several West End musicals including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Secret Garden.
Charles Edwards played the lead role of Richard Hannay in the Olivier Award winning West End production of The 39 Steps and later on Broadway. He most recently appeared as Benedick, opposite Eve Best, in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare's Globe and in Peter Hall's production of Twelfth Night at the National Theatre.
Jonathan Hyde is an Australian born actor whose recent theatre credits include Captain Hook in Peter Pan (Kensington Gardens), Rattigan’s Nijinsky (Chichester Festival Theatre), Jumpers (National Theatre) and Antigone (Old Vic Theatre). He has appeared in numerous productions for the RSC including Trevor Nunn’s 2007 King Lear and The Seagull, which toured internationally.
Our Review:
28 March 2012
Following the unprecedented success of the recent film there was a certain inevitability that David Seidler’s original stage version of The King's Speech would receive a West End outing, and there are some who would argue it has followed too quickly on the heels of its big screen incarnation.
Either way, it’s a very decent addition to the 'Royal play' canon, here rendered in a superbly-acted production which arrives at Wyndham's fully warmed up after a regional tour.
What's especially striking seeing it in the flesh (and there's a surprising amount of flesh) is how underneath all the pomp, ceremony and deprecating humour, it paints a disturbing picture of the emotional abuses that so often occur at the heart of powerful families.
George VI (or Bertie) and his struggle to manage his stammer in order to provide his country with a wartime figurehead is one of the most endearing of modern Royal legends. When he parrots “duty is the sole...
Latest User Review
Faye Wyles - 9 May 2012:
Best show at theatre I've seen. Must see...
Cast
Charles Edwards (George VI)
Jonathan Hyde (Lionel Logue)
Emma Fielding (Queen Elizabeth)
Joss Ackland (George V)
Ian McNeice (Churchill)
Michael Feast (Cosmo Lang)
Charlotte Randle (Myrtle Logue)
Daniel Betts (King Edward VIII)
David Killick (Stanley Baldwin)
Creative
David Seidler (Author)
Mallory (Bath) (Corporate Sponsor)
Playful Productions (Producer)
Michael Alden Productions (Producer)
Adrian Noble (Director)
Anthony Ward (Design)
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