The Mad Gay King
Kings Head Theatre • 3rd Oct - 18 Oct
It was back to Islington last night to see Christopher Adams-Cohen’s play The Mad Gay King, currently showing in the Kings Head Theatre’s ‘main house later’ slot. With a 9pm start time, the performance follows directly on from the earlier main house performance of Jonathan Tolins ‘Buyer & Cellar’ starring Rob Madge (Jack The Lad - Issue 38) and having now seen both shows, (although not on the same night), the absolute magic of theatre is never more apparent than knowing that tonights play about the life and love of one of history’s most scandalous kings had been preceded, less than an hour before on the very same stage, by a one man comedy about an out-of-work actor who finds himself working in a mini shopping mall in Barbra Streisand’s basement. God, I love theatre!!!
Whilst some plays in the theatre’s ‘later’ slot have suffered from having to inherit the sets of these main house productions, one of the many surprises of tonights production was how successful director Scott Le Crass, (who’s work I had last enjoyed earlier this year with James McDermott’s play Jab - www.jacktheladmag.com/theatre-reviews/jab), and lighting designer Joseph Bryant had been in making the space their own, the minimalist yet versatile set giving no clues as to the production that had proceeded it. Whilst being more contemporary than one might have expected given the timeframe of this ‘based on a true story’ play, it managed to make an impressive and striking artistic statement, which atmospherically put me in mind of how the late Derek Jarman might have interpreted the text, especially during the powerful dark opening which sees a priest (Thom Tuck) leading the Queen Mother (Bernadine Pritchett) in mourning for the death of her son, slowly filing past a striking illuminated LED cross.
Whilst the title of the play had initially made me think this was going to be a more frivolous flight of fancy, Adams-Cohen’s look at the life of King Ludwig II (Elijah Ferreira) turned out to be anything but frivolous. Indeed, the scale of the undertaking, it being a story that spans 20 years of the Kings life, (and continuing on into a year after his death), seemed an exceptionally bold undertaking for a 70 minute four-hander, that could have easily come unstuck were it not for such engaging performances from all the actors under the assured direction of Scott Le Crass, who led us effortlessly through numerous locations and different periods of the Kings reign without missing a beat, stripping all erroneous fat from the story to heighten the interactions between it’s economic number of key characters.
The Mad Gay King therefore becomes an engagingly dramatic account of a monarch known today more for his extravagant artistic and architectural projects than for his day-to-day running of state affairs. It also focusses on the increasingly close relationship with his ‘chief equerry’ and ‘master of the horse’ Richard Hornig, (David Buttle), a dangerous liaison not only because of their differing social status, but also because homosexual acts had become criminalised between males in 1871 with the unification of Germany under Prussian hegemony, (not to mention the pressure he was under from court to produce an heir to the throne).
As the story unfolds we are also treated to Ludwigs ongoing, almost obsessive friendship with composer Richard Wagner, (Thom Tuck), who, as well as playing the priest, impressively also doubles up as a court adviser to Ludwigs mother, Marie of Prussia, (Bernadine Pritchett) and rather like a 19th Century incarnation of Sir Humphrey Appleby from BBC Comedy Yes Minister, Minister Pfordten is an accomplished manipulator behind the scenes at court. The political intrigue peppered throughout this production becomes as engaging as the personal journey Ludwig goes on, and as an underlying undercurrent to the Kings inability to curb his more extravagant interests, acts as a constant reminder of his almost inevitable fate.
Elijah Ferreira plays Ludwig with a puckish, mischievous demeanour in keeping with the impulsiveness of his character. This portrayal is as whimsical as the play gets, and whilst at first I found the characterisation lacking a deeper charm to really emotionally connect with the King as events conspire against him, Ferreira’s energy, commitment and consistency in the role eventually won me over, even if the optics were still a little odd when standing side by side to David Buttle’s more physically commanding presence as Hornig. That being said, Buttle’s portrayal of a man who unexpectedly finds himself falling in love with the King only to then be accused of his betrayal and eventually mourning his passing was for me the greater emotional arch to the play, and is a journey made all the more believable by the gravitas of Buttle’s own impressive performance throughout, all of which is wrapped up in J. Aria’s equally superb sound design throughout.
A little knowledge of Ludwig II story might be of some benefit ahead of seeing the play, but it’s not essential, and having overheard audience members declaring an interest to look into the Kings story beyond what they had just seen on stage spoke volumes about the overall success of this production. Less, in this instance, was most definitely more.
★★★★
review: Simon J. Webb