Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Mike Bartlett’s sleek KING CHARLES III ingeniously looks to the Bard to foretell the future

• By drediman
• November 2, 2015
• No Comments

Buyers beware. Theatergoers expecting an edgy Aaron Sorkin-esque political thriller are bound to be disappointed by King Charles III, Mike Bartlett’s latest play which daringly speculates the fate of the British monarchy post-Queen Elizabeth II. You see, Bartlett’s play, which opened last night at the Music Box, is less interested in the substance of the underlying political intrigue and more keen on painting a psychological portrait of Prince Charles, the man who it seems was destined never to be king. To accomplish this, Bartlett has turned to none other than William Shakespeare for direct inspiration. In style and structure, Bartlett’s play, which is written in blank verse, blatantly resembles a number of the Bard’s plays. Indeed, most of the characters seem to be lifted straight out of Richard II (the king that most surely inspired this King Charles III), Henry IV, Macbeth, Hamlet, and even Othello. It’s credit to Bartlett’s copious skill, careful construction, and sheer chutzpah that the play transcends being simply a glorified exercise in Shakespearean mash-up. King Charles III proudly lives up to its ambitious self-description as a “future history play”, one that stands proudly among Shakespeare’s history plays and other works.

The cast that’s been assembled – most of them are holdovers from the original Almeida Theatre production – is sublime. As the muddled King Charless III, Tim Pigott-Smith cannot be bettered. His richly layered performance nobly shows us a man who means well but is hopelessly disoriented when it comes to political dealings. Unlike Richard II, however, this is a monarch you sympathize with, making the play’s subsequent events that much more tragic and heartbreaking. The rest of the cast – from Oliver Chris’s William, Lydia Wilson’s Kate, Richard Goulding’s Harry, to Margot Leicester’s Camilla – all find the perfect balance between the well-known public figures they are portraying and their respective Shakespearean doppelgänger.

Rupert Goold, the current artistic director of London’s well-respected Almeida Theatre, has staged Bartlett’s play with simplicity and elegance. Tom Scutt has beautifully recalibrated his stark original set design from across the pond, effectively lit by Jon Clark, to fit the much wider Broadway stage (Mr. Scutt also created the production’s picture-perfect costumes). Additionally, mention must be given to Jocelyn Pook’s score, which imbues King Charles III with a gravitas befitting Bartlett’s thrillingly ingenious play.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

KING CHARLES III
Broadway, Play
The Music Box
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run