King Charles III
by Mike BartlettClarence Brown Theatre 2019
Director: John Sipes
Set Design: Jelena Andzic
Costume Design: Lauren T Roark
Lighting Design: Kenton Yeager
Sound Design/Composition: Joe Payne
Projection Design: Alice Trent
"Queen Elizabeth II has died. After a lifetime of waiting, Prince Charles is finally King. How will he reign? And what do his children think about his ascension to the throne? Written like a Shakespearean history, this Broadway and London hit explores the potential rivalries of the Royal Family, the unwritten rules governing Britain’s monarchy, and the contemporary stresses on its democracy."
Epic scale for human events, in the lives of modern day kings and queens. Music inspired by Rupert Gregson-Williams score for the Netflix hit The Crown, book-ended by Mozart and Handel. Sounds of riots, the house of commons, reporters, and the masses.
Joe Payne’s sound track is wonderfully and mysteriously ambient at times, with episodes of musical suggestion and proclamation, not the least of which is the obligatory Handel coronation anthem thrown in for appropriate measure. All in all, this CBT production of King Charles III is remarkably surprising, not just in its creative physical production, but in its atmospheric ability to communicate the most basic of universal truths: the consequences of seeking power and identity in a changing world. For some reason, the future never seems to learn. - Alan Sherrod, ArtsKNoxville article link
Photos by Brynn and Kenton Yeager.
