The Madness of George III by Alan Bennett

Bath Theatre Royal, Apollo Theatre and UK tour

Director Christopher Luscombe, Lighting Oliver Fenwick

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Luscombe's production and Janet Bird's design are infused with Georgian elegance and refinement, but the evening's triumph is to show the fragility of this china world, which has a bull at its centre

Independent

 

Against Janet Bird’s simple but effective set of blond wood frames and free-standing doors Bennett’s affectionate, satirical drama plays out with clarity. 

Express

 

Janet Bird’s set design is remarkable in its simultaneous understated simplicity – plain lines and hushed tones – and ingeniously manifold use: an energetic succession of frame-covered walls, doors and panelled windows, complemented by a few pieces of furniture, transforms the otherwise bare stage into a labyrinthine palace. Additionally, the sets often serve as an on-stage representation of the king’s mental deterioration; in a notable episode, the stage is dotted with doors incessantly opened and closed by a cast in pursuit of George, making for a powerful evocation of the King getting increasingly lost in the corridors of his own distraught mind.

Venue