The standing ovation drawn from an enthusiastic opening night audience confirms that The Court Theatre’s eclectic progamming range is right on target and its ‘new’ stage arrangements successfully accommodated. The play itself, saturated in images and ideas that have been combed over conscientiously for decades, provides a hefty challenge for both director and creative team – how to clarify the complex relationships without losing sight of plot or physical context. The production is a triumph of focus.

There is a distinctive three-way operation at work. On one hand, there is the central story of the prince who had not expected to be a reigning monarch, made poignant by his almost insuperable stutter, setting the challenge for a public life almost beyond reach. Establishing the domestic royal and generational context is the circle of family he must deal with, developing into the wider political crisis caused by the abdication of his older brother David, as Edward VIII. Involved consequently are the statesmen of the day, and references to the rapidly escalating threat of war with Germany heighten the tension for everyone.

As a result of this rich material, the play finds freshness and impact with each passing scene, some of them mere flashes for our all-seeing camera, with overall pace and control steadily fixed on the man whose duty as king must come before personal pain. The test is excruciating and its eventual success triggers the sort of relief for an audience that can only be experienced when the struggle has been sympathetically shared.

The multiple worlds of the play are solidly established by a respected cast, but inevitably the deciding relationship is set by Jason Hodzelmans as a totally convincing Bertie, (King George VI) and Cameron Douglas as Lionel Logue, his cheekily unorthodox Australian speech therapist. Together and singly in their respective ‘private’ lives, both actors find depth and detail which compellingly cement the doings onstage as truthful and fresh accounts of what might have been just a retelling. Their unlikely personal bond contributes much to both the frequent humour and its theme of teamship.

In production values, too, the play is securely served. Costume and sound design (Pam Jones and Matt Short), both establish period and role generously, while Daniel Williams’ stylish set design manages the impossible challenge of combining naturalistic and symbolic with ease, lit sympathetically to Rachel Marlow’s design.

All up then, this production is confirmed as a vigorously intelligent realisation of an interesting play, with plenty to say about facing the odds and overcoming them.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer