Long Live the King!!

It may be delayed (better late than never), but last week, I went to see my first play this year, King Charles III at Manchester's Opera House, a future history play which explores the what MAY happen when the Queen dies, and Charles takes the throne.
Written by Mike Bartlett, the piece premièred at Almeida Theatre in London in April 2014, before transferring to the Wyndhams in the West End in the September that year. It garnered rave reviews and even the Olivier for Best Play last year. It has also had a successful transfer to Broadway recently with the original London company, and now, a new UK tour has started, with Robert Powell in the title role.

So, the main reason I wanted to go was to see whether it was worthy of all the rave it got when it was in London, and before I really answer that question, I have to but one big thing to one side; and that is that I do not believe that this WILL happen when Charles picks up that crown. I won't spoil what happens, but some of the roles, particularly Charles and Harry in my opinion, didn't seem entirely accurate and I think that what Charles does in the play is NOT something that the real Charles would do. I am mentioning this now, as it is important to remember with work like this that the piece is its own thing and not suggesting anything to affect what MAY happen (incidentally, it will be interesting what course of action (if any) is taken when the piece is performed AFTER the Queen dies).

Now I've got that over with, I can now focus on the piece as it is; and as it is, it is a well written and very well acted Shakespearean-type tragedy; and this applies to the language used as well as the subject matter. You can tell really tell which social class the characters are in by the language that the characters use; taking Harry (who uses more Shakespearean language, much like the rest of his family and the politicians in the piece), and his girlfriend Jess (who uses much more common speech), as a good example.

I may have said before that Charles has been written inaccurately in my opinion, but Robert Powell did a really good job in acting out the role, and you could really see a man who, at the end of the day, really wasn't sure what to do with the one thing he wanted all his life. Another highlight for me was
the big scene with William (played wonderfully by Paul Westwood (u/s) - he even looked like William at a distance) - like I said, no spoilers here, but it was powerful and beautifully acted.

So, I know I've given this a bit of a mixed bag, but it is to remember to see the piece as its own thing, and on its own, I would recommend seeing it once. I has finished in Manchester but is going up and down the country as we speak. I may not believe it will happen like that, but I hope it doesn't put you off going and seeing for yourself.