Review: THE KING'S SPEECH, Watermill Theatre
The Watermill's production is a beautiful tribute to David Seidler's magnum opus
Most may hear The King's Speech and think of Tom Hooper's multi-Academy Award and BAFTA-winning film, but little may know it was originally conceived as a play by its writer, the late David Seidler. Finding success in the West End after premiering in the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre a mere two years after the film's release, the production returns in The Watermill Theatre.
Following King George ‘Bertie’ VI taking speech therapy for his stammer under eccentric Aussie Lionel Logue, Seidler's script stays faithful to his screenplay to the point of dialogue being verbatim. However, he creates a more intimate portrait of Bertie and Lionel's relationship than Hooper's period epic, something Emma Butler's direction handles sensitively as she hones in on the title's the double meaning: Bertie's speech impediment and his fear of public speaking.
In a play about speech and the power it holds, sound plays a key role which designer Robin Colyer masterfully crafts. From loud heartbeats and shallow breathes to distant crowd roars, we feel Bertie's raw anxiety and the gravity his position holds from the outside. Even radio feed glitching like Bertie's stammer avoids feeling heavy-handed.
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Bretta Gerecke's abstract set with wooden panels allows the audience to fill the blanks on the historical accuracy, with gramophones and microphones scattered to emphasise the theme of speech. The foundation of a throne looms in the background, almost like an omen for Bertie's inevitable crowning.
The luxury of a longer running time gives Seidler the opportunity to explore the political backbone of The King's Speech that's as compelling as what was left on screen. We learn more about Lionel's thespian background and the sacrifices his wife Myrtle made that delayed them returning to Perth, juxtaposing Bertie's brother Edward ‘David's’ scandalous love with twice-divorced Wallis Simpson leading to his abdication. It also doesn't shy away from the latter's affiliation with the Nazis, terrifyingly portrayed using real life recordings.
With an air of Colin Firth in appearance, mannerisms and diction, Peter Sandys-Clarke (Downton Abbey) creates a complex character behind the stiff upper lip. Revealing a fearful and isolated man grappling with an ill father, the sudden pressures of becoming king and trauma stemming from childhood abuse. Never exaggerating his stammer, it's a moving performance that makes you root for him all the way, making his climactic speech declaring World War Two an emotional high
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Arthur Hughes (Shardlake) is just as compelling as eccentric Lionel Logue. Ready with a quip and refusing to kowtow to royalty, his pain from a failed acting career shows him as more than a mentor in Bertie's eyes. When together, their chemistry creates the play’s funniest and most profound moments.
Rosa Hesmondhalgh (Madame Ovary) says everything you need to know about Wallis Simpson with a simple eyeroll, a stark contrast to her warmth as Lionel's wife Myrtle. Aamira Challenger is doughty yet endlessly supportive as the future Queen Mother Elizabeth. The rest of the seven-piece ensemble are wonderfully double cast with highlights including Jim Kitson as Winston Churchill and King George V, and Stephen Rahman Hughes as self-aggrandising David and Stanley Baldwin.
The King's Speech achieves something other screen to stage adaptations struggle with: staying true to the spirit while feeling like its own entity. Anchored by a still compelling script and captivating lead duo, the Watermill's production is a beautiful tribute to David Seidler's magnum opus.
The King's Speech runs at the Watermill Theatre until November 2
Photo Credits: Alex Brenner
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