ON all three walls of designer Tom Scutt’s beautiful stage set is a mural of faces – reminding the audience that the actions of King Charles III are being scrutinised by the world.
And it is one simple refusal by the UK’s new monarch to sign a bill into law which sends his country into a spiral of anarchy and treachery.
Mike Bartlett’s script uses a combination of blank verse, topical jokes and references to Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear to create a tale which is both timeless and very much of the moment.
There is a thick vein of black humour running throughout – from the new king, played with appropriate regal demeanour by Robert Powell, asking “Shall I be mother?” when pouring tea, to the appearance of a very familiar blonde ghost spouting mystical predictions.
The ensemble cast is outstanding, with Jennifer Bryden’s Kate a smiling Lady Macbeth, creating a perfect chemistry with Ben Righton’s conflicted William.
And Richard Glaves’ Harry provides great comic relief as he falls into a relationship with commoner Jess (Lucy Phelps).
The tone shifts from the extremely reverent – as in the beautiful opening requiem to the departed Queen – to the irreverent as Harry goes on the pull only hours later.
But at the heart is a serious question about the nature of democracy – and the contrasting versions offered by Charles as a benign dictator and the Government as an unchecked power.
Four stars
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