Show Info

The Madness of George III
by Alan Bennett
Starring Simon Ward and Susan Penhaligon

Directed by Alastair Whatley
Design by Victoria Spearing
Lighting design by Alan Valentine
Costume design by Fiona Davis
 
The year is 1786. George III is King. King of England. He has a loving wife, a nation of subjects, a loyal parliament, and the world kneels at his feet... But he's a little odd.
 
The king's behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic, and word has it he's addressed an oak tree as the King of Prussia! Doctors are called in, parliament falters, and the Prince Regent manoeuvres himself into power.
 
From the hand of national treasure Alan Bennett, author of The History Boys and Talking Heads, The Madness of George III is a brilliant exploration of duty and kingship, an epic play about the ties that bind us together as family, as a society and as a nation. Gripping drama, dangerous politics and irreverent comedy collide in a rollercoaster ride where the health of the nation is at the mercy of the mental health of one man.
 
Starring Simon Ward (Judge John Deed, Zulu Dawn, Young Winston, All Creatures Great And Small) and Susan Penhaligon (The Land That Time Forgot, No Sex Please We're British, Bouquet of Barbed Wire), this marks the first touring production of the play since the original award-winning production by the National Theatre in 1991 and the subsequent hit 1994 film starring Nigel Hawthorne.

Produced by Wilde Enterprises in association with South Hill Park, Eastbourne Theatres and Anvil Arts

www.madnessofgeorge.co.uk