Tim Pigott-Smith in King Charles lll at Wyndham’s Theatre
Mike Bartlett’s much talked-about drama King Charles III gets a well-deserved West End transfer from the Almeida into the West End.
Directed by Rupert Goold, the play tackles life following the Queen’s death and Charles’ ascension to the throne and features a cast including Tim Pigott-Smith returning to the role of Charles, plus Oliver Chris, Katie Brayben, Richard Goulding, Nyasha Hatendi, Adam James, Margot Leicester, Miles Richardson, Tom Robertson, Nicholas Rowe, Tafline Steen and Lydia Wilson.
The reviews are as glowing for the West End transfer as the original Almeida production, with critics hailing it a big hit.
King Charles III runs at the Wyndham’s Theatre until 29 November 2014).
" This is quite the best thing that the playwright Mike Bartlett has done, and for that matter the pioneering director Rupert Goold... Piggott-Smith rules the roost, though, giving the understated performance of his career as Charles." Read more
The Daily Telegraph
★★★★
"Tim Pigott-Smith gives the performance of his distinguished career as Charles. He eschews mere impersonation to convey, in the first half, a tormented idealist struggling to come to terms with his new role. He then grows into a movingly tragic figure in his baffled rage at being outmanoeuvred by members of his own family and his realisation of the hollowness of the throne." Read more
The Guardian
★★★★
" This is quite the best thing that the playwright Mike Bartlett has done, and for that matter the pioneering director Rupert Goold... Piggott-Smith rules the roost, though, giving the understated performance of his career as Charles." Read more
The Guardian
★★★★★
"When it opened at the Almeida Theatre in April, Mike Bartlett’s "future history play", an audacious imagining of a constitutional crisis after the death of the present Queen, already seemed perspicacious.
Now, with the Union trembling on the brink of break-up, its themes appear more vital than ever, as Bartlett asks the stark question: who is in ultimate charge of our country? Is it the (elected) government? The (unelected) Crown? Or might it even be we, the people?" Read more
Evening Standard
★★★★
"Tim Pigott-Smith gives the performance of his distinguished career as Charles. He eschews mere impersonation to convey, in the first half, a tormented idealist struggling to come to terms with his new role. He then grows into a movingly tragic figure in his baffled rage at being outmanoeuvred by members of his own family and his realisation of the hollowness of the throne." Read more
Evening Standard
★★★★
"With a royal baby on the way and the press poised for an orgy of cooing, Mike Bartlett’s sharp, audacious drama arrives in the West End at an opportune moment" Read more
The Times
★★★★
"When it opened at the Almeida Theatre in April, Mike Bartlett’s "future history play", an audacious imagining of a constitutional crisis after the death of the present Queen, already seemed perspicacious.
Now, with the Union trembling on the brink of break-up, its themes appear more vital than ever, as Bartlett asks the stark question: who is in ultimate charge of our country? Is it the (elected) government? The (unelected) Crown? Or might it even be we, the people?" Read more
The Times
★★★★
"With a royal baby on the way and the press poised for an orgy of cooing, Mike Bartlett’s sharp, audacious drama arrives in the West End at an opportune moment" Read more
3 thoughts on “Reviews: King Charles III at the Wyndham’s Theatre”
Donald Hillman
A mildly interesting conjecture rather ponderously executed. Overly dependent on Shakespearean antecedents arbitrarily employed. Charles III’s ultimate capitulation ill-prepared for. Fine performance by Tim Pigott-Smith. Workmanlike performances by everybody else. First act got somewhat tedious. For what it’s worth, second act picked up the beat. 3 stars of 5.
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A mildly interesting conjecture rather ponderously executed. Overly dependent on Shakespearean antecedents arbitrarily employed. Charles III’s ultimate capitulation ill-prepared for. Fine performance by Tim Pigott-Smith. Workmanlike performances by everybody else. First act got somewhat tedious. For what it’s worth, second act picked up the beat. 3 stars of 5.
A very fine performance by Timothy Pigott Smith.
A mildly interesting and rather ponderously executed conjecture excessively beholden to Shakespearean antecedents.