The Madness of George III, written by Alan Bennett, is an epic, multi award-winning drama. Set in 1788, King George III (played by Mark Gatiss) is the most powerful man in the world. However, his behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic as he succumbs to fits of lunacy; and his mind unravels at a dramatic pace.
As the Queen (played by Debra Gillett) and Prime Minister (played by Nicholas Bishop) 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.
Having already been named as a theatre highlight of 2018 by BBC News, the show has drawn much media attention thanks to the casting of Mark Gatissin the lead role of King George III and Adrian Scarborough as Dr Willis.
Set to tread the boards alongside the household names is Debra Gillett as Queen Charlotte, Wilf Scolding as the Prince of Wales, Harry Kershaw as the Duke of York and Sara Powell as Lady Pembroke.
Taking the role of Captain Fitzroy will be Nadia Albina, while Jack Holdenwill play Captain Greville.
Amanda Hadingue is confirmed to play leader of the opposition Charles Fox, alongside Stephanie Jacob as Sheridan. Hadingue and Jacob will also be taking on roles as royal physicians and Sir Lucas Pepys and Sir George Baker, respectively, and Louise Jameson will be playing Dr Warren.
East Midlands actor Andrew Joshi has been confirmed in the role of Lord Dundas and Billy Postlethwaite is confirmed as Braun.
Papandiek will be played by Jessica Temple, Thurlow by David Hounslowand Adam Karim is set to play Fortnum.
Director Adam Penford said: “I can’t wait to get started with rehearsals. There is a lot of pressure with this show, but we’ve got an incredibly experienced cast and team working on it. I’m also very proud that we have maintained our policy of gender-blind casting within this show– it’s going to be a real treat!”
Marking the 70th anniversary of Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company will be a special Gala performance – sponsored by Russell Scanlan – on the evening of Thursday 22 November, which will include a special auction hosted by Mark Gatiss and Adam Penford, of money-can’t-buy prizes. We aim to celebrate this milestone by raising £20,000 on the night to support our access and community work and our artist development programme.
The Madness of George III runs from Friday 2 November until Saturday 24 November, and is also due to be broadcast to cinemas across the globe as part of National Theatre Live on Tuesday 20th November.