The Madness of George III
In Alan Bennett's drama, "mad King George" isn't. Unlike King Lear, whose mania sears his synapses, George only has the symptoms, but enough of them to prompt the Regency Crisis of 1788 (since his condition could topple the government). A battery of doctors, a hypochondriac's nightmare in powdered wigs, try to heal the king but only exacerbate the condition. At the Old Globe, Miles Anderson plays George III like an inverted iceberg: deep down, at the tip, he's sane. Everything else becomes a burden that Anderson, in an exceptional performance, overcomes, thanks to a man named Willis. Under Adrian Noble's inventive direction (the cast runs in and out of eight mirrored double doors with the speed of farce), the Globe's summer festival intersects in Willis: his authoritarian tactics recall Petruchio (in Shrew); and Robert Foxworth plays Willis and also King Lear (to whom George is often compared). Andrew Dahl's a kick as the Prince of Wales, a corpulent poseur, Emily Swallow gives the Queen a loving patience, and Jay Whittaker's William Pitt exudes an almost insane ferocity. Bruce Turk, Adrian Sparks, and Joseph Marcell make the attending physicians (and their medieval cures) eerily absurdist. But like the king, they only seem mad
(Note: Madness runs in repertory with King Lear and The Taming of the Shrew.)Worth a try.
When
Ongoing until Friday, September 24, 2010
Hours
| Sundays, 8pm |
| Tuesdays, 8pm |
| Wednesdays, 8pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 8pm |