Richard Lutz listens in to the staging of an Oscar-winning film now playing at the Birmingham Rep
The main question about the production of The King’s Speech has to be: once you have seen the Colin Firth film about George VI and his speech therapist, why spend money on seeing it on stage?
You know the plot, the outcome, the characters, the essential frictions between the king and his wayward older brother and George’s growing friendship with his mentor Lionel Logue.
But, intriguingly, what emerges is a slightly different tale – albeit one written by the original screenwriter David Seidler, himself a stutterer.
The playwright concentrates more on the growing trust and friendship between king and therapist. You see their loyalty to each other slowly grow, despite scepticism from George’s wife (the young Queen Mum), the devious Archbishop of Canterbury and the old fox Winston Churchill.
So, we are seeing a different King’s Speech and the play works, even though I would think 90% of this sell-out crowd knows full well what is going to happen.
Actually the story plays better on the stage in a way as it is word-driven and much more cheeky and clever than the muted down 2010 film which grabbed four Oscars.
Ray Coulthard (on TV in Mr Selfridge) plays George VI as a dry, self-aware reluctant monarch who slowly gains an understanding of real friendship (the last word of the play is ‘friend’); Jason Donovan (ex-Neighbours and singer) is the jumpy slightly dodgy Logue who believes not only in himself but the potential of his royal client. And there’s a sparky performance by Claire Lams as the loyal royal wife Queen Elizabeth.
Hats off too, to designer Tom Piper, who received an MBE this year as the originator of the Tower of London poppy exhibition. His set is wood-panelled, semi-circular and evokes the times, especially with a beautiful parquet floor that acts as therapy room, royal palace and BBC HQ.
Until March 7th