King Charles III

A very fun gimmicky idea, marred by poor execution. The gimmick is that this is a future history of the brief, tumultuous reign of King Charles III - i.e. Charles of the big ears, son of Elizabeth II, father of Princes Harry + William. It's also written in the style of a semi-modern Shakespeare: I think I detected iambic pentameter? I didn't actually count the syllables, so can't be sure.

Anyway, that sounds cool, doesn't it? But bah. It was just silly. I didn't find the main construct and tension believable (when King Charles III gets mad at the British PM for wanting to enact a law that diminishes freedom of the press). It felt immediately dated, given Prince Harry's wedding (I know, I know, not the play's fault). But the treatment of Harry was a bit caricature-ish. The poetickal dialogue was also terribly stilted; like Shakespeare fanfic that I might have written back in school. The pacing and plot felt rushed, and many of the characters (especially Harry and his manic pixie “prole” girlfriend, Jess) felt like paper-thin stand-ins for ideas and stereotypes.