King Charles III: Shakespearean take on Prince’s future

A royal family drama modelled so closely on the form of Shakespeare’s history plays that sometimes it feels like a parody

Supplied Editorial Fwd: King Charles III production pictures #2

The Lamentable Tragedie of King Charles III, as this might as well be called, is a royal family drama modelled so closely on the form of Shakespeare’s history plays that sometimes it feels like a parody. It has five acts and a tenderly comic subplot. It is written mostly in iambic pentameter, with closing rhyming couplets for the big speeches. And it has soliloquies at key points in the action in which the characters reflect on the situation and offer metaphors for what they are doing — including one in which the eponymous character likens running a state to driving a car with a satnav.

There is a ghost, and the looming presence of the mass of ordinary people, represented in Tom Scutt’s imposing design by a splendid frieze circling the high brick walls of the set. It is directed by Rupert Goold and it is all very well done, with a fine cast. Playwright Mike Bartlett’s verse is great to listen to. The plot is a bit predictable but no less fun for that. And there is a lot of humour.

The central conceit is that on the death of his mother, Prince Charles, frustrated after so many years of waiting, attempts to assert himself as a king who might actually have some influence on public policy and lawmaking.

He refuses to sign off on a bill that will limit the freedom of the press and a political crisis ensues. In true Shakespearean style his current wife and sons become embroiled in the events, as do, of course, the angry prime minister and the oily Tory leader of the opposition. Then there is the ghost — no prizes for guessing who that is.

Robert Powell is excellent as Charles, a troubled figure driven half by idealism and half by a harboured resentment at his long wait. Jennifer Bryden and Ben Righton as Kate and William, Carolyn Pickles as Camilla, and Richard Glaves as the rebellious young Harry, all give nuanced performances, as do Tim Treloar and Giles Taylor as the politicians. For many Australians the fun point of reference will be Lucy Phelps, who plays Jess, Harry’s feisty, commoner, art-student girlfriend.

The oddest thing about this production is that, with its reverence for both the Elizabethan periods, it turns the politics of contemporary England into a drama of royal individuals bickering with each other, especially in the second half. The real world is scarcely there. There is no reference to globalisation, nor, in all the debate about the freedom of the press, to the internet, other than a brief scene in which a chorus wearing the familiar stylised masks of the hactivist group Anonymous stomps frighteningly.

And of all the unlikely developments in the plot, the most absurd is that the British monarchy, or its representative, might actually threaten to sack a government and call for a new election. In Australia we know this to be a ridiculous suggestion.

King Charles III. By Mike Bartlett. Sydney Theatre Company and Almeida Theatre, UK. Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay, Sydney. April 2. Tickets: $84-$116. Bookings: [phone] or online. Duration: 2 hours 40 minutes, including interval. Until April 30.