April 2011: Crown Matrimonial at the Barons Court Theatre
Imperial Productions proudly presents
Crown Matrimonial
by Royce Ryton
Wednesday 20th April - Saturday 7th May 2011
at the Barons Court Theatre
Crown Matrimonial is the story of an almost impossible choice – a choice between love and duty. A choice to be made by the King of England, Edward VIII. To choose love is to deny his birthright and throw an Empire into constitutional crisis; to choose duty is to deny himself.
About the Show
This gripping drama focuses on the crisis that faced the nation when Edward VIII declared his love for American socialite Wallis Simpson. Unswayed by the prospect of public scandal, family upheaval and even abdication, he is insistent that he will marry the woman he loves.
It's 1936, and there's consternation in Queen Mary's private sitting room at Marlborough House. Edward, fresh from a European trip with Mrs. Simpson, is suntanned, cheerful and full of objectionable new Americanised habits, including a taste for cocktails and enhancements to his vocabulary that his mother regards as vulgar. Naively, he imagines that marriage to Wallis is perfectly feasible; his mother swiftly sets him straight. The British people, she says, “are fundamentally moral; they will disapprove.” Besides which, as King, and head of the Church, it is constitutionally impossible for him to marry a twice-divorced woman. The rest, as they say, is history, and this powerful play provides a fascinating and moving study of both a major constitutional crisis and an overwhelming issue of private and public conflict.
This insight into the domestic life of the Royal Family shows the volatile relationship between Queen Mary and her son caused by his love affair, and mirrors the other great royal constitutional crisis in 1997 portrayed in the film The Queen – time and events have given Ryton’s play an edge it didn’t possess when it was first staged in 1972.
Is it acceptable for the king (or future king) to marry a divorced woman?
What should the wife of a king be called?.
What constitutes an acceptable partnership to be married by the Church?
The answers then, as now, were not so clear cut.
Booking Information
To book tickets please call the Barons Court Theatre box office on 020 8932 4747.
Booking in advance is strongly recommended as there are only 50 seats available for each performance.
All Tickets £12 (£10 concessions)
If a performance is fully booked on the only night you can make it, please come along anyway as there are usually returned tickets available on the door!
Please note that seating is unreserved. The theatre opens 15 minutes before each performance. Drinks purchased in the bar can be brought into the auditorium.
Performances are nightly at 7.30pm, avoiding the Easter and Royal Wedding Bank Holidays:
Wednesday 20th April
Thursday 21st April
Tuesday 26th April
Wednesday 27th April
Thursday 28th April
Tuesday 3rd May
Wednesday 4th May
Thursday 5th May
Friday 6th May
Saturday 7th May
The Cast | ||||
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Sophie Bickerstaff | Charlie Cable | Andrew Chevalier | Hilary Derrett | Robert Gosling |
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Kathryn Hamilton-Hall | Anne-Marie Hughes | Emily Lockwood | Jamie Thompson |
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The Production Team | ||
| Director | David Phipps-Davis | |
| Lighting Designer | Dan Young | |
| Assistant Director | Jenny Perry | |
| Costume Designer | Samantha Jones |