King Charles III (play)

The premiere took place at the Almeida Theater on April 10, 2015 (pre-shows from April 3), the shows went on until May 31 ^[1] . The title role was played by actor Tim Pigott-Smith . In September 2015, the production moved to Windham's (West End). The show was originally planned for three months ^[2] , which was subsequently extended until the end of January 2015 ^[3] . In October 2014, Pigott-Smith, who broke his arm, was replaced by Miles Richardson for 5 weeks ^[4] .

At the end of the performance in London, the production went on a tour, which began in Birmingham in September 2015, where Robert Powell played the title role. The tour ended with a monthly show at the Roslyn Packer Theater in Sydney , marking the Australian premiere of the play in March 2016 ^[5] .

The play was on the Broadway stage in a limited show from November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016 at the Music Box Theater. All the main actors of the London cast repeated their roles ^{[6] [7]} .

In February 2017, the premiere of a new production of the play at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington ^{[8] took place} .

The royal family gathers at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II . Charles , ascending the throne under the name of Charles III, holds the first audience for the prime minister . It discusses a bill to regulate freedom of speech in the press . The project needs only royal approval , but Charles is worried that such media restrictions may lead to state censorship and bias in reporting on abuse of power. Opposition leader takes the side of the king.

Charles and Prince William see the ghost of Princess Diana , who both promises that he will become "the greatest king." Charles refuses to sign the Free Press Act, and after another attempt by the Prime Minister to convince him and threaten to carry out the project without royal approval, he dismisses Parliament .

Protests start all over the country, people in London are especially outraged. Charles strengthens security at Buckingham Palace. Katherine proposes a solution: William must mediate between Parliament and his father. The prince announces this at a press conference, infuriating the latter. In the end, Charles is forced to abdicate in favor of William, who signs the bill and restores the balance between the king and Parliament. The play ends with the coronation of William and Catherine to the British throne.

Theater Design by Almeida and Windhams

Broadway production

In March 2016, it was announced that the play would be filmed. The same team worked on the television film for BBC 2 as it did on theatrical production. Text adapted by Mike Bartlett, directed by Rupert Gould ^[14] . Tim Pigott-Smith , Oliver Chris and other actors returned to their roles. In November 2016, information appeared that the role of Kate would be played by Charlotte Riley ^[15] . The shooting took place, including in the Beverly Minster church, in the city of Beverly ( East Riding of Yorkshire ), which replaced Westminster Abbey thanks to a similar style. It is noteworthy that this church has already replaced the main cathedral of Great Britain on the set of the television series Victoria ^[16] .

The premiere on BBC 2 took place on May 10, 2017 ^[17] . The television film is dedicated to the memory of Tim Pigott-Smith, who died a month before his release on the screens.

• King Charles III on the Internet Movie Database
• On the Internet Broadway Database