By Patricia Morris Buckley
SDUN Theatre Critic
That quote is from “The Madness of George III,” the third, final and best offering of this year’s summer Shakespeare Festival at the Old Globe Theatre. But the quote is as timely today as it was then. That Prince of Wales had to wait until age 60 to inherit the throne, something Prince Charles, now a senior citizen, knows all too well.
While this show is not one of the Bard’s, it is a nice bookend to his King Lear as it deals with kings, legacies, madness and the many forms that greed for power can take. In fact, a bit of “Lear” is read during the show. To put a touch more irony in it, one character criticizes the performance of another’s reading of the king’s role—and the actor reading Lear actually plays Lear in the Globe’s production.
Most people know this show because of the 1994 Oscar-nominated film that starred Nigel Hawthorne and Helen Mirren (retitled “The Madness of King George”). The play looks at George III’s descent and recovery from madness at the end of his long reign. Today, the medical profession believed he suffered from a rare blood condition that led to this temporary madness and eventually to a permanent one at the end of his life.
It’s sad to watch as George, a rather stoic and jovial ruler, starts to lose his mind—as he says, “I’m not going out of my mind, my mind is going out of me.” Even scarier are the practically medieval medical minds that surround him, recommending such horrifying treatments as bloodletting, boils and purgatives. In the end, it’s a very crude version of behavior modification that brings him back to himself.
What makes this production so enjoyable is the crisp direction of Adrian Noble, who also directed “Lear” (far less successfully). The action moves so quickly that one scene shifts to the next as the other clears the stage. Politics are handled with humor and speed, so they never slow the action. In the end, it’s humanity—and all that would prevent it from a fruitful existence—that takes center stage.
It’s interesting that the second act, where George regains his mental function, is even better than the first. That’s due in great part to the actor in the role. This part requires great nuances and skill, both of which Miles Anderson (who plays no other role in the repertory of plays) shows in great abundance. We become so attached to the George we first meet that we can’t wait for him to be restored.
Other standout performances include Andrew Dahl as the pompous Prince of Wales, who cleverly walks the line between caricature and a man made to wait decades for his real life to begin. Jay Whittaker takes the quiet role of William Pitt the Younger and makes the audience feel his fear of his own madness. And Robert Foxworth (who also plays Lear) is the calm and authoritative voice of reason as the doctor who cures the king.
Adding greatly to the play’s success are two design elements. Ralph Funicello’s curved wall of antiqued mirrors that are also doors allow for the show’s fast pacing and work as almost every setting the playwright intends. Costume designer Deirdre Clancy produces the usual colonial-era garb, but a few she has given an extra punch (see for yourself). That restraint is what makes the design work so well.
While many Shakespeare lovers will flock to see “King Lear” and “Taming of the Shrew,” the best production of the summer isn’t one by the Bard at all. But it’s not to be missed.
Through Sept. 24
Old Globe Theatre
Tickets: $29-$62
23-GLOBE
www.theoldglobe.org
