“…even though I am not wholly convinced that a West End staging of The King’s Speech is something we urgently need, this is a slick, appealing package. The two key roles are inhabited fully – and at times thrillingly.”

“Edwards is more than just technically convincing as a man battling to overcome a fatal flaw. Robbed of the movie close-ups Firth so impressively used to reveal the pain behind the eyes, Edwards takes the stammer into his whole body. He vividly conveys a kind of physical and emotional blockage which prevents him from speaking. But he also allows audiences to see how this is at war with the stiff, formal demeanor permanently required of a man of his station. It’s not his costumes that give him status and emotional weight, it’s his performance.”

“Until I saw it on stage, I had not realised how much Seidler’s piece owed to Alan Bennett’s The Madness of George III. In both we see an embattled royal subjected to all kinds of curative humiliations by a rogue outsider: in Bennett’s play it was a bluff Lincolnshire parson whereas in Seidler’s it is a tough Aussie speech specialist in the shape of Lionel Logue.”

“As the shy, dutiful man nicknamed ‘B-b-b-bertie’ by his careless elder brother, Charles Edwards is outstanding. He betters Colin Firth’s film performance, bringing a subtlety, understated wit and mercurial flair that Firth, an intelligent but square presence in all his film roles, lacks. Edwards has been on the cusp of a major breakthrough for some time. Let’s hope this richly appealing but MOR prequel to ‘our finest hour’ is a vehicle to the stardom he so richly deserves.”

“Fundamentally, this is theatreland’s celebratory hurrah, coinciding with the royal jubilee. Perish the thought that any ignoble commercial opportunism could be at work.”

“The former RSC chief Adrian Noble directs a production that is elegant, lucid and witty, with a revolving stage design to conjure different locations, as well as highly effective use of period film footage.”