''The Madness of George III'' is a 1991

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and tw ...

. It is a fictionalised

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

study of the latter half of the reign of

George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until Acts of Union 1800, the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was ...

, his battle with

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

, and the inability of his court to handle his condition. It was adapted for film in 1994 as ''

The Madness of King George ''The Madness of King George'' is a 1994 British biographical historical comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own 1991 play ''The Madness of George III''. It tells the true story of George III of Gre ...

''.

Performance history

The play had its premiere on 28 November 1991 at the Lyttelton Theatre of the National Theatre in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It was directed by

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner (; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', ''Th ...

and designed by Mark Thompson. The play starred

Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom '' Yes Minister'' and the Cabi ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, Janet Dale as

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

and Michael Fitzgerald as the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, also starring

Julian Wadham Julian Neil Rohan Wadham (born 7 August 1958) is an English actor of stage, film and television. He was educated at Ampleforth College and the Central School of Speech and Drama, third son of Rohan Nicholas Wadham DFC and Juliana Wadham, née ...

Charles Kay Charles Kay (born Charles Piff, 31 August 1930) is an English actor. Early life Kay was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, the son of Frances (née Petty) and Charles Beckingham Piff. Originally educated at Warwick School, Kay went on to study me ...

Adrian Scarborough Adrian Philip Scarborough (born 10 May 1968) is an English actor. He has appeared in films including ''The Madness of King George'' (1994), ''Gosford Park'' (2001), ''Vera Drake'' (2004), ''The History Boys'' (2006), ''The King's Speech'' (2010 ...

, Mark Lockyer and David Henry. After its London run, the production toured the UK and the United States, returned to the National Theatre in 1993 and was then presented in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1994. Hawthorne repeated the role in the 1994 film, earning a Best Actor nomination in the Academy Awards. The play was staged at the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, from June 19 to September 24, 2010. On 18 January 2012, the play was revived at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

David Haig David Haig Collum Ward (born 20 September 1955) is an English actor and playwright. He has appeared in West End productions and numerous television and film roles over a career spanning four decades. Haig wrote the play '' My Boy Jack'', w ...

played George III. A further revival took place in November 2018, at

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Fr ...

, with

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...

as the lead. This production was streamed on the National Theatre's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel in June 2020 as part of the ''NT at Home'' season.

Reviews

The play has been viewed as a character study for the actor who plays George III and most reviewers attribute its success to compelling performances from the two actors, Hawthorne and Haig, who played the king.

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is current ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' singled out Nigel Hawthorne's performance in the US tour, calling it ''"astonishing"'' and ''"unforgettable"'', but he labelled the play itself as not ''"one of Bennett's major works"'' and as being more ''"marketable to Broadway and the colonies".'' Writing about the 2012 revival, Lyn Gardner said that Luscombe's production reminds us that ''"Bennett is not writing a royal Downton Abbey, but a play exploring appearance and reality"'', and that the play brings out the fact that amidst all the royal pomp the king is merely a man like everybody else. In ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', Charles Spencer praised Haig's performance, comparing it favorably to Hawthorne's performance twenty years earlier, saying ''"it seemed an impossible act to follow, but David Haig proves every inch Hawthorne’s equal in a performance of extraordinary emotion, tenderness and humour".'' Writing on the 2018 Nottingham Playhouse run, Kate Maltby, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' notes that ''"Scarborough and Gatiss are electric",'' praising Powell for her ''"endearing"'' portrayal of Queen Charlotte. She notes that ''"Gatiss delivers a tour de force"'' in this ''"viscerally repulsive depiction of the gap between public and private life."'' even despite his descent into a ''"slobbering wreck"'' as George III. Maltby notes overall that this production is a ''"technically excellent production of a modern classic."'' gaining it a 4 out of 5 rating.

Cast

Original Cast (National Theatre, 1991)

* Janet Dale as

* Michael Fitzgerald as the

as William Pitt *

Anthony Calf Anthony Calf (born 4 May 1959) is an English actor. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He has recurring roles in the television medical drama '' Holby City'', as Michael Beauchamp, and ''New Tricks'' a ...

as Captain Fitzroy * Daniel Flynn as Captain Greville *

as Dr. Willis * David Henry as Charles Fox * Brian Shelley as Fortnum

Second London Run (Apollo Theatre, 2012)

Beatie Edney Beatrice Edney (born 23 October 1962) is an English television actress. Born in London, she is the daughter of actress Sylvia Syms and her husband Alan Edney. Her brother is Benjamin Edney and her cousin is musician Nick Webb. Edney first came ...

* Christopher Keegan as the

* William Belchambers as the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

* Charlotte Asprey as Lady Pembroke * Ed Cooper Clarke as Captain Fitzroy * Orlando James as Captain Greville * Beruce Khan as Papandiek * Ryan Saunders as Fortnum * Peter McGovern as Braun * Simon Markey as Prince's Footman * Gary Mackay as Prince's Valet * Nicholas Rowe as William Pitt * Thomas Wheatley as

Lord Thurlow Baron Thurlow, of Thurlow in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 11 June 1792 for the lawyer and politician Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow, with remainder to his younger brothers and the heirs ...

* Richard Hansell as

Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire of ...

* Gary Oliver as Charles Fox * Patrick Moy as Sheridan * Peter Pacey as Sir George Baker *

Madhav Sharma Madhav Sharma (born 12 November 1939) is an Indian-British actor. Early life Sharma studied at the Scottish Church College in Kolkata, India and later, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Bloomsbury, London. Following the death of his m ...

as Dr Richard Warren * John Webb as Sir Lucas Pepys *

Clive Francis Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor. Early life Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner. His father played Detective Chief ...

as Dr. Willis * Karen Winchester as

Margaret Nicholson Margaret Nicholson (c. 1750 – 14 May 1828) was an Englishwoman who assaulted King George III in 1786. Her futile and somewhat half-hearted attempt on the King's life became famous and was featured in one of Shelley's first works: '' Posthumo ...

* Chris McCalphy as Willis' Henchman * Haseeb Malik as Warren's assistant

Nottingham Playhouse Run (2018)

as Dr Willis *

Debra Gillett Debra J. Gillett is an English actress who has appeared in productions including ''The Witches'', ''Chimera'', ''Truckers'', ''Casualty'', ''Just William'', ''Dalziel and Pascoe'', '' Spooks'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Soul Music'', and '' Cranfo ...

* Nadia Albina as Fitzroy *

Nicholas Bishop Nicholas Bishop (born 19 September 1973) is an English-born Australian actor. He is best known for his television roles as Detective Peter Baker on the soap opera ''Home and Away'' (2004–07) and as Peter Dunlop on the ABC medical drama ''Body ...

as William Pitt * Amanda Hadingue as Fox/Dr Pepys * Jack Holden as Greville * David Hounslow as Thurlow * Stephanie Jacob as Dr Baker/Sheridan *

Louise Jameson Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a wide variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The Omega Factor'' (1979), ...

as Dr Warren * Andrew Joshi as Dundas * Adam Karim as Fortnum * Harry Kershaw as

* Billy Postlethwaite as Braun *

Sara Powell Sara Powell (born 23 June 1968) is a British-Jamaican stage, screen and voice-over actress and audiobook narrator. Her regular television roles include crown prosecutor Rachel Barker in the BBC's police procedural drama ''HolbyBlue'' (2007–200 ...

as Lady Pembroke * Wilf Scolding as

* Jessica Temple as Papandiek

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madness Of George Iii, The Plays by Alan Bennett Cultural depictions of George III Plays about British royalty Plays based on real people Plays set in the 18th century British plays adapted into films