Wednesday 19 - Friday 21 March 2025, 7.30pm

How mad is the King and how sane his courtiers? Join us for a wonderful production of this frenzied comedy!

Tickets available via TicketSource, or by using the QR Code provided. https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whsb?sd=1

The novelist J G Ballard suggested “in a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom” and this idea is explored by Alan Bennett in his play “The Madness of George III”. Set in the year 1788, the story tells the British side of the events related in the musical Hamilton. King George III has been King of Great Britain for 28 years and is the most powerful man in the world, although not quite powerful enough to hold onto the Americas. Nor, indeed, reality. George’s behaviour becomes increasingly erratic with his mind unravelling at a dramatic pace. As the Queen and Prime Minister attempt to hide the King’s illness from his subjects, royal doctors hopelessly squabble over the correct cure, subjecting him to torturous medical treatments. Ambitious politicians and the scheming prince begin a power struggle, endangering the stability of the crown until a Lincolnshire parson steps in.

The play was written by the wickedly brilliant Alan Bennett, author of ‘The History Boys’, and first made an appearance in 1991 at the National Theatre’s Lyttelton Theatre. Sir Nigel Hawthorne played the lead role in this original production, and in the follow up film, hailed by the New York Times as “astonishing, unforgettable”.

With thanks to our talented director Mr Jeffreys, and our outstanding actors, our own production promises to be, in Mr Jeffreys’ own words, “fun, wild, irreverent, and thought-provoking. There are some glorious character roles for young actors to perform and moments of drama and emotional power along the way”. https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whsb?sd=1