''The Madness of George III'' is a 1991 play by Alan Bennett. It is a fictionalised biographical 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''.

Performance history

The play had its premiere on 28 November 1991 at the Lyttelton Theatre of the National Theatre in London. It was directed by Nicholas Hytner and designed by Mark Thompson. The play starred Nigel Hawthorne as George III, Janet Dale as Queen Charlotte and Michael Fitzgerald as the Prince of Wales, 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 and Israel 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, from June 19 to September 24, 2010. On 18 January 2012, the play was revived at the Apollo Theatre. David Haig 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 as the lead. This production was streamed on the National Theatre's YouTube 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 of '' The New York Times'' 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'', 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'' 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)

* Nigel Hawthorne as George III * Janet Dale as Queen Charlotte * Michael Fitzgerald as the Prince of Wales *

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)

* David Haig as George III *

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 ...

as Queen Charlotte * Christopher Keegan as the Prince of Wales * 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 Ed Cooper Clarke is a writer and actor from London, England. Education Cooper Clarke graduated from The Drama Centre London, Class of 2008/2009. Career In season 2 of ''The Crown'', Cooper Clark appeared as Jeremy Fry, best man to Antony Armstro ...

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 * 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 Sheridan may refer to: People Surname *Sheridan (surname) *Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named *Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician ...

* Peter Pacey as

Sir George Baker Sir George Baker, 1st Baronet, FRS, FSA (1 January 1722 – 15 June 1809) was physician to King George III. He was born in Modbury, Devon, the son of George Baker, vicar of Modbury, Devon and his wife Bridget Harris. He was educated at Eton ...

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 Sir Lucas Pepys, 1st Baronet (; 1742–1830) was an English physician. Life The son of William Pepys, a banker, and his wife Hannah, daughter of Dr. Richard Russell of Brighton, was born in London on 26 May 1742. He was educated at Eton College ...

* Clive Francis 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)

* Mark Gatiss as George III *

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 ...

as Queen Charlotte * 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 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 Prince of Wales * 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