Gripping drama of royal love

9:00am Saturday 14th June 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

CROWN Matrimonial opens at the Theatre Royal Bath on Monday June 16 and runs until Saturday, June 21.

Set in Marlborough House in 1936, the play, by Royce Ryton, is a gripping drama about the crisis which faced the nation when Edward VIII declared his love for the twice-divorced American socialite, Wallis Simpson.

Unswayed by the prospect of public scandal, family upheaval and even abdication, the King's determination to marry brought about the first great schism in the monarchy in the 20th Century.

Powerful and engrossing, the play offers an insight into the private tensions between Edward VIII and the Royal Family, especially his mother, Queen Mary (played by Patricia Routledge), which led up to the sensational decision which was to change the course of British history.

Known to millions throughout the world as the redoubtable Hyacinth in Keeping Up Appearances and as Hetty in Hetty Wainthrop Investigates, Patricia Routledge is one of Britain's most distinguished actresses, respected for her work in theatre, film, television and radio.

She is closely associated with the work of Alan Bennett who wrote three monologues especially for her: A Lady of Letters, A Woman of No Importance, and Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet.

Her recent stage performances include Office Suite, which played Bath in May 2007; and The Importance of Being Earnest, at Chichester, in the West End and on tour in Australia. She is the recipient of the 1967 Tony Award for her Broadway performance in Darling of the Day, and the 1989 Laurence Olivier Award for Candide (The Old Vic). Her career has encompassed a huge variety of roles in plays by writers ranging from Shakespeare to Sheridan and musicals such as the National Theatre's production of Carousel. Other highlights have included an acclaimed Queen Margaret in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Richard III (1984). She has twice won Top TV Comedy Actress and Television Personality of the Year Awards and was honoured in the BBC's 60th Anniversary Awards. She received an OBE in 1993 and was awarded a CBE in 2004 for Services to Drama.

Rufus Wright plays the role of King Edward VIII; and Richard Hansell plays Bertie, Duke of York.