The National Theatre has
broadcast a production of Alan Bennett’s The Madness of George III from the
Nottingham Playhouse. Mark Gatiss gives an unforgettable performance as the
king who goes from arrogance and royal privilege to mental illness and
humiliation at the hands of people who normally quaked in his presence.
Bennett’s 1991 play deals with
the question of royal power, the replacement of a king who has gone bonkers,
political ambition, intrigue, treachery and medical treatment for madness in
the 18th century more correctly described as quackery. The central
part of the play however deals with the human story of King George III who
descends into hell and eventually recovers after a great deal of horrendous
treatment.
Photograph: Manuel Harlan
Mark Gatiss as King George is on the
stage more than anyone else. He dominates the production. We see Gatiss express
entitlement and power over people but also humanity when he forgives a woman
who attempts to assassinate him and we see him as a husband in bed with Queen
Charlotte (Debra Gillett) where they address each other as Mr. King and Mrs.
King.
Gatiss then gives us the mad king.
His head bobbles, he babbles, he puts a finger in his mouth, screams in pain,
begs for mercy and prays for death. Gatiss gives a sensational performance that
takes one back to the ancient phrase of inspiring pity and fear.
On the political level we have
Prime Minister William Pitt played unerringly by Nicholas Bishop as a dour,
ascetic (except for drinking) man, a faithful servant and a good statesman. He
is opposed by the ambitious and wily Charles Fox (Amanda Hadingue) who, with
his cabal, wants the Prince of Wales (Wilf Scolding) to be appointed regent.
The prize is appointments to important posts. The Prince of Wales is a vacuous,
shallow and determined man who wants to rule and is prepared to conspire
against his father. Thurlow (David Hounslow) is the opportunistic and
treacherous Chancellor of the Exchequer.
One of the most striking aspect
of the play that is done superbly in the production is the conduct of the
“doctors.’ They represent an unbelievable array of ignorance, quackery, egotism
and to a frightful extent lack of humanity.
Sir Lucas
Pepys (Amanda Hadingue) believes
in examining feces very closely and carefully as indicators of health or
lack thereof. He duly displays the king’s…well, you get the idea. He prefers to
approach his patient “from the other direction” and the more stool the merrier.
Sir George Baker (Stephanie Jacob) is a pulse doctor who is happy
when the patient has a steady pulse and that is a good time to give him more
medication. The effect, let alone the efficacy, of the medication is at best a
guess.
Dr Warren (Louise Jameson) applies hot glasses to the
king’s legs and head which create blisters. The application is extremely
painful and the wounds are left festering so that the patient’s poison will
flow out.
The Madness of George III.
Photograph: Manuel Harlan
Dr. Willis (Adrian Scarborough)
is a cleric-turned-psychologist who believes in talking to the king but his
real aim is to break his spirit. He restrains the king with straightjackets in
a pretty brutal manner, separates him from the queen and considers himself an
expert in curing mental illness.
This is only a partial list of
the remedies applied to King George.
Director Adam Penford does superb work and I found it
curious that he cast some women playing male roles. Nadia Albina plays Fitzroy,
Amanda Hadingue plays Fox and Pepys, Stephanie Jacob plays Baker and Sheridan,
Louise Jameson plays Warren and Jessica Temple plays Papandiek. The women did
fine work in the roles and I almost forgot that the male roles are done by
them. But why? We have seen Hamlet, King Lear and many roles played by women and
very effectively. But what is the point of a woman playing Charles Fox?.
The set by Robert Jones consists of panels that represent
walls and doors on the small, revolving Nottingham Playhouse stage. There are
numerous scene changes and the set facilitated ease of scene changes from
different palaces, to the bedroom to parliament. The stage seemed too small for
the world of the play especially as seen in detail on the large screen.
The benefit of seeing the performance in a movie house
was the details provided by the close-ups but there is the attendant loss of
seeing the whole stage all the time.
In
the end it was an outstanding production of a wonderful play that has lost none
of its power and relevance some twenty seven years after it premiered.
__________
The Madness of George III by Alan Bennett was
performed at the Nottingham Playhouse, England and transmitted on December 20,
2018 at select Cineplex cinemas across Canada.
For more information: www.cineplex.com/events
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