20 September – 2 November

The King’s Speech takes an intimate view of one of life’s most unorthodox relationships between Bertie, the soon-to-be-crowned King George VI, and speech therapist Lionel Logue. As Hitler’s threat on Europe encroaches, Bertie fights his own battle to overcome his speech impediment at the time his country needs him most.

Imagine yourself as a child terrified of your own parents, because every time you speak you disappoint them. Teased. Unable to share a joke with friends. Trapped in a body that refuses to obey your commands.

The role of ‘Bertie’ will be played by Peter Sandys-Clarke, whose West End stage credits include The Letter (Wyndham’s Theatre) Journey’s End (Playhouse and Duke of York’s), When We Are Married (Garrick) and A Daughter’s A Daughter (Trafalgar Studios). Other stage credits include Private Lives, A Touch of Danger, Before the Party (Theatre Royal Windsor), The Importance of Being Earnest (UK Tour), and The Browning Version (Theatre Royal Bath). His screen credits include The Crown, Masters of the Air, Ghosts, Secret Invasion, Downton Abbey and Foyle’s War.

Arthur Hughes will play ‘Lionel Logue’. Best known for roles in the Netflix series The Innocents and in Radio 4’s The Archers, his stage roles include La Cage Aux Folles (Park Theatre), The Solid Life of Sugar Water for Graeae, and the title role in Richard III – the first disabled actor to do so for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Hughes can currently be seen on screen in the title role in Disney+ series Shardlake.

Aamira Challenger (Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution – London County Hall, The Comedy of Errors – Shakespeare’s Globe, and Breeding – King’s Head Theatre) will play ‘Elizabeth’.

Performance schedule
Mon – Sat 7.30pm (24 Sep 7pm)
Thu & Sat 2.30pm (excl. 21 Sep)

The Watermill Theatre
Bagnor, Newbury RG20 8AE
Box office: 01635 46044

Photo credit:  Alex Brenner