The Queen is dead. After a lifetime of waiting, Prince Charles ascends the throne. A future of power lies before him... but how to rule?
Winner of the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Play, King Charles III is the "bracingly provocative and outrageously entertaining" (The Independent) drama of political intrigue by Mike Bartlett that comes to Broadway following a sensational West End run. Directed by Rupert Goold and deemed "the most insightful and engrossing new history play in decades" by Ben Brantley of The New York Times, this "bold and brilliant" (The Times of London) production explores the people underneath the crowns, the unwritten rules of Britain's democracy and the conscience of its most famous family.
Underlying everything is the conception of duty, raised pointedly when Harry must resolve whether he'll abdicate his position - whatever that is - to marry his free-spirited girlfriend (Tafline Steen) and become an ordinary man who can enjoy dining at Burger King. (To actually care about this silly young man's decision, framed as significant drama, you have to really be into monarchy.) Ultimately, the family stages an intervention with Charles, determined to do what's necessary - and it's pretty drastic - to set things right again in Britain. 'King Charles III' is quite wordy and likely more accessible across the ocean, but it's also unusually imaginative and a surprising bit of fun.
That said, the play, under Rupert Goold's typically clever direction, feels like more than a reasonable pastiche. It is a tragic work in its own right, about a man who has too long been denied power ('My life has been a ling'ring for the throne,' Charles says, in one of Bartlett's better lines) and finds that once he gets it, he wants even more. If some of the middle feels workmanlike, the ending has poignancy and heft. There is a moment in the final scene that invites and earns audience gasps.
| 2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Tim Pigott-Smith |
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Rupert Goold |
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Play | King Charles III |
| 2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Tim Pigott-Smith |
| 2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Mike Bartlett |
| 2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) | Tom Scutt |
| 2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Rupert Goold |
| 2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Mike Bartlett |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Tom Scutt |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Rupert Goold |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Richard Goulding |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Tim Pigott-Smith |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Mike Bartlett |
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