The award-winning drama King Charles III has its Canadian premiere at the Arts Club this month. Based on an imagining of the British monarchy following the death of Queen Elizabeth, it is a Shakespearean play for a history not yet written. A political satire, King Charles III artfully questions the role of the monarch and the importance of public image in the 21st century. The play won for Best New Play at the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards and at the Laurence Olivier Awards.
“When I first heard about this play, I was immediately intrigued,” Artistic Managing Director Bill Millerd says. “Then, I saw the production in London and knew we had to do it.”
The play opens with the queen’s funeral and Charles’s (Ted Cole) rise to the throne. In the wake of a recent hacking scandal, the newly minted king refuses to sign a bill limiting the freedom of the press and subsequently instigates political upheaval. While Prince William and Kate (Oliver Rice and Katherine Gauthier) vie for the throne, the affable Prince Harry (Charlie Gallant) begins an illicit relationship with Jess (Agnes Tong), a university student who is “quite poor but very distinctive.”
Written in blank verse, the play is evocative of Shakespeare with modern twists —featuring compromising text messages and tabloid scandals alongside a ghost and a “gravedigger” figure serving up laughs. Director Kevin Bennett says, “King Charles III isn't just a play about kings and queens or the British monarchy. It is about anyone who has tried desperately to build their own life and has struggled because of the situation they were born into. Can you be your own person and also be king? It is in this that I think the play will touch everyone’s heart.”
Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage
October 19 – November 19, 2017
Tue–Thu at 7:30 pm, Fri & Sat at 8 pm, Wed at 1:30 pm, and Sat & Sun at 2 pm
Tickets from $29 at http://artsclub.com/or the Arts Club Box Office at 604.687.1644
Image by David Cooper
