The King Speaks! REVIEWS

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 2/3/12 at 9:04am

Almost a year after the film reigned supreme at the Oscars, 'The King's Speech' has finally made it to the stage.

A packed house at the Yvonne Arnaud theatre in Guildford, Surrey, gave the play a rousing reception at its world premiere on Thursday night.
Playwright David Seidler called it "the fulfilment of a very long dream".
Seidler originally wrote his story about King George VI for the stage before he developed the screenplay.

Seidler went on to win an Oscar and Bafta for best screenplay for 'The King's Speech' in 2011.
But the play has never actually been performed until now.

The film starred Colin Firth as Bertie, the king who conquered his debilitating stammer with the help of maverick Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue portrayed by Geoffrey Rush.

'This to me is more fulfilling than all the movies in the world” said David Seidler
In this stage version, the lead role is taken by Charles Edwards, with Australian-born Jonathan Hyde as Logue, and Emma Fielding as Queen Elizabeth.
Joss Ackland plays King George V and Ian McNeice is Winston Churchill. The play is directed by former RSC artistic director Adrian Noble.

Speaking after the premiere, Seidler, who himself had a childhood stammer, said it had been a "very emotional night".
"When I was a very young boy in the late 40s, my grandfather would take me to the Golders Green Hippodrome to see these wonderful creaky old British plays in which the diva and the leading man would swoop on stage and stand in the spotlight.

"To me, as a little boy of eight or nine years old, it was absolute magic and I thought, 'I really want to be part of that world' - which was a strange ambition for a boy who stuttered and couldn't talk.
"Well, that little boy got a big thrill tonight."

Plans to bring the play to the stage were in place before the film became a huge international hit, making $414m (£261m) at the global box office.
Seidler said he had no second thoughts about staging the production so soon after the film's success.
"This is what I've always wanted," he said. "I had always envisaged the film as being something that would give me a little bit of money so I could help get this on the boards.
"I don't want to sound ungrateful, and I'm not, I'm so very pleased and happy the film did as well as it did. Winning an Oscar is just a wonderful thing to happen - certainly at my age - but this is what I wanted. This to me is more fulfilling than all the movies in the world."

The stage version of The King's Speech allows Seidler to explore characters and themes more deeply than Tom Hooper's film.
"There is now a fully fleshed out relationship between Lionel and his wife Myrtle that didn't exist in the film," he said. "The stage version has a great deal more of the politics and I think a great deal more humour - it's a richer canvas."

Seidler began researching his storyline for 'The King's Speech' throughout the 1970s and 80s but abandoned it after the Queen Mother asked him not to pursue the project during her lifetime.

After the Queen Mother died in 2002, Seidler returned to writing the play. It was in 2005, at a script reading in London, that director Tom Hooper's mother spotted its movie potential and told him she'd found his next film.
With unconfirmed reports that the Queen had seen and enjoyed the film version of 'The King's Speech', would Seidler invite her to see the play?
"Any time Her Majesty would like a house seat, let me know and I will arrange it. I think it's unlikely, but I would love her to see it - it would be a great honour."

'The King's Speech' is at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford until 11th February. It will then tour to Nottingham, Bath, Brighton, Richmond and Newcastle. More dates may be added prior to a West End announcement.

Updated On: 2/10/12 at 09:04 AM

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 2/10/12 at 11:46pm

The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/feb/10/the-kings-speech-yvonne-arnaud-guildford

The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/first-night-the-kings-speech-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford-6727626.html



Updated On: 2/11/12 at 11:46 PM

[My Oh My]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 12:19am

Sorta off-topic.

A stammerer (known as 'stutterer' in the U.S.) myself since as long as I can remember, I was elated when the issue was featured in a film. I was hopeful when it won the Oscar.

Hopeful that, for once, people might have another way to react thanks to the exposure the speech impediment had gained through the award-winning film. I did not expect overnight change but enough people still look at me as if I'm a retard when I stutter that I'm convinced it hasn't left a dent of a positive impact on the lives of those who have the condition. Thankfully, I tend to go through long stretches where it's barely noticeable and I am an expert at covering it well. But there are always those times that may amount to a couple times a month, but might as well be daily due to the way people treat you afterwards.

Then there are those who try to be nice about it. But they can't. And it's written all over their face when you say "Good Morning" and get no response in return or they obviously try to avoid you and pretend to be busy when anyone can call out their bull.

I know it sounds as if I'm hurt. Not really. I've never personally had a problem with my stutter. It was embarrassing when I was a kid. But I've grown to accept it as a part of me and I think it can be funny sometimes. I even laugh at myself, but it's a laugh of endearment, not mockery. People are just shallow and get spooked over something not sounding normal or pretty. I only wanted the film to change reactions because after over 30 years of the same freaked out "OMG, what's the matter with you!" expression when I begin to sound like a lawn mower, well, it gets a little bit irritating when having a clue and going out a bit more to realize that people are different and not all "perfect" but not necessarily mentally ill either is so much easier.

All people say about the film is how "Beeeeeautiful" it was. Expected. The speech impediment got as much press as a speech impediment can get, I guess. Ah, well. I'll just continue stammering away like my dad's lawn mower and type and torture y'all with everything I can't say verbally onto this lovely forum. Hooray! XD

[hotjohn]

Posted: 2/12/12 at 3:19am

As a child, I had a terrible stammer - I could hardly string two words together. Asking for my destination on the bus was like torture (for the conductor as well as me) and I could never read out aloud in school. The doctor said that I probably had too many thoughts in my head to get my words out properly and that I would grow out of it; I did eventually in my late teens but still struggled when on the phone for some reason. One slight benefit was the fact that I had to be creative with my vocabulary, when I failed to get a particular word out I would have to supply an alternative. I've since made up for my quiet childhood - these days I never shut up!

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 2/13/12 at 11:47am

The London Evening Standard
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/review-24034867-the-kings-speech-yvonne-arnaud-theatre---review.do

The Daily Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/9078771/The-Kings-Speech-touring-review.html

Updated On: 2/13/12 at 11:47 AM

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/13/12 at 2:29pm

What's on Stage - 3 stars
http://www.whatsonstage.com/reviews/theatre/london/E8831329126090/The+King%27s+Speech.html

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 2/13/12 at 4:36pm

I have never had a stutter, but when I was young I had a speech impediment, which was partly caused with difficult breathing through my nose.

I got bullied a lot because of it and got called horrible names, this affected how I perceived myself and how other people perceive me and I took this into adulthood, 10 years ago things came to a massive head and resulted me having a mental breakdown.

Since then I have learned to like myself and accept who I am and theatre played a part in that process, before my breakdown I wouldn't go to the theatre by myself, as I equated that other peoples would perceive me as being inadequate if I went to the theatre by myself and I would be labelled, now I regret how much quality theatre I missed, I guess you guys on here helped as well as being part of a online theatre community has encouraged me to see shows I wouldn't of seen before, so has increased my appetite for theatre.

Now I go to the theatre lots of times by myself and even go on holiday a lot by myself, which is something I definitely wouldn't of done before.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 2/18/12 at 10:47pm

Thanks for those reviews. Glad to see it getting mostly a positive response.

Phantom of London and HotJohn, in addition to the stutter, I also speak really, REALLY fast. Every now and then a kid or two at the elementary school I work at will point out to me, "WoW! You talk super fast!" or "callllllm dowwwwn." The latter I suspect is due to the way stuttering can often come across as hyperventilating, tension, or nervousness. I hate that cause I'm usually extremely mellow. Stuttering =/= Nervousness!

At any rate, I'm almost done with school and will be installed in a LAUSD classroom soon. I wonder what the parents are gonna say when they first meet their kid's teach, and he says to them, "G-G-G-G-G-OOD M-M-M-ORNI-I-I-ING!"