Move over Meghan Markle—Meet the CSF Royal Family
In “King Charles III: A future history play,” playwright Mike Bartlett uses the typical form and themes of a Shakespearean history play to explore what the UK might experience when Queen Elizabeth eventually passes away.
Of course, unlike when they attend one of Shakespeare’s histories, this summer’s audience will have the opportunity to watch actors portray living celebrities they are already quite familiar with.
How do they measure up? Meet the Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s British royal family.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall
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In “King Charles III” the King (formerly HRH the Prince of Wales, or more colloquially, Prince Charles) faces off with Parliament over a controversial bill that restricts the freedom of the press—before he has even been officially coronated. His wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, fervently supports him throughout.
In the CSF production, Charles will be played by John Hutton. Camilla will be portrayed by Anne Sandoe.
William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
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Anyone with access to the internet in the early 2000s is at least somewhat familiar with the story of William and Kate. The college sweethearts, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, wed in April 2011 and now have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
In “King Charles III” William and Kate will will be played by Casey Andree and Emily Van Fleet.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex
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Prince Harry has made global headlines often in recent years, in part due to public fascination with his marriage to American actress Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, and the birth of their son Archie. But because Bartlett wrote “King Charles III” in 2014, the prince’s plot line won’t be ripped from the headlines (so to speak).
This re-imagining is actually in keeping with Shakespeare’s histories, says CSF dramaturg Heidi Schmidt: “Shakespeare took liberties with factual history, rearranging the order of events or compressing timelines for dramatic efficiency. He also created composite characters or invented them outright in order to further the story. Shakespeare’s histories are more ‘based on a true story’ than documentary. Likewise, Bartlett’s fictionalized future (as he imagined it in 2014) diverges a bit from royal reality of 2019.”
CSF’s Prince Harry will be portrayed by Seth Dhonau.
Visit the UK in the UT
To learn more about the production, to see the complete cast list or to purchase tickets, visit us here. “King Charles III” opens July 20. Tickets start at just $14 for the preview, and as low as $17 for some regular performances.