When preparing for the role of King Charles II in his new West End comedy The Crown Jewels, comedian and actor Al Murray knew the perfect person to go to for advice – King Charles III.
Murray, 55, reveals: “I have written to the King for tips.
“I followed the proper protocol because I wanted a reply.
“I wrote, ‘Sir, I am shortly to appear playing His Majesty King Charles II at the Garrick Theatre. Any tips? I remain your obedient and humble servant, Al Murray’.”
Sadly, Al never received a response. Yet surely his regal performance will soon see him sent to the House of Lords? “Or the Tower of London,” he laughs.
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The Tower plays a key role in this surprisingly topical show, which opens on Wednesday.
A modern reworking of a Restoration comedy, the play by Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly, The Durrells) takes us back to a time when England was basking in the afterglow of the coronation of a new king called Charles.
Cheekily advertising itself as “The Royal Event of the Year,” The Crown Jewels recounts the astonishing true story of how in 1671 the volatile Irish officer Colonel Thomas Blood (played by Aidan McArdle) plotted the most audacious theft in history – stealing the Crown Jewels in plain sight from the most impregnable castle in the land.
Blood tricked his way into the Tower of London by disguising himself as a person. Having clonked the newly appointed Master of the Jewel House on the head with a mallet, Blood used the same hammer to beat St Edward’s Crown into a disc, so he could conceal it in his clerical robes.
The Sceptre with the Cross was too large for a swag bag, so a fellow conspirator sawed it in half. Meanwhile, a third criminal hid the Sovereign’s Orb down his breeches.
Murray marvels at the incredible tale: “The Protectorate, which is when England was a Commonwealth without a monarchy, is this great long, churning process that shows how fragile monarchy is. Then Blood proves the same thing in one morning – with a hacksaw.”
Murray is best known for his comic alter ego The Pub Landlord, a persona he describes as, “A know-all know-nothing blowhard who knows the answer to every question even though he hasn’t been asked any of them”. Next year he is taking the character on a major tour, entitled Guv Island.
The Crown Jewels, which also stars such thespian royalty as Mel Giedroyc, Neil Morrissey and Joe Thomas, marks Al’s West End acting debut.
The comedian was originally intending to take the summer off, but was persuaded to tackle the role of Charles II by the strength of Simon’s script and by his partner.
The comedian recalls: “She said to me, ‘You’ll be on the Tube and you’ll see that ‘insert name of comedian here’ has taken the
job, and you’ll go, ‘Why do I never get to do these things?’
“She was absolutely right. If there is one way to get me to do something, it is to appeal to my innate jealousy!”
Was Al worried that some people might come along to The Crown Jewels expecting him to play Charles II as a 17th-century version of The Pub Landlord?
Apparently not. “King Charles II is a million miles away from The Pub Landlord. So I hope people who are used to seeing my usual thing are going to say, ‘Oh goodness, he can do another voice!’”
Murray jokes he may be taking the role too seriously.
“During the technical rehearsal, I was asking the stage manager to call me ‘Your Majesty’. So it has kind of gone to my head.”
Has the actor gone full Method, then?
“Not quite. But I do like swanning around in the King’s kit, while the other actors are at my beck and call!”
Murray, who has also co-written another West End show, Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image the Musical, outlines the other qualities the Monarch possesses.
“He has to be merrie and lusty. But he’s also a tiny bit bored. People do whatever he wants and no one dares tell him the truth.”
But one thing this Charles II will never be bored by are his costumes. “He is spectacularly attired,” Al agrees. “The third out of his five costumes is my favourite. It is splendiferous.
“It comprises of red taffeta breeches, a gold waistcoat, and a red suit jacket. The embroidery is so spectacular you might confuse me for a chair.”
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Yet one item Murray has struggled with is the crown.
“It’s disgustingly heavy. I’m not going to go so far as to express sympathy for a crowned king, but it is awkward to wear.”
Charles II certainly had an astonishing life. Al, who has a degree in history from Oxford, reflects: “He grows up with his father’s kingdom unravelling.
“He lives through Cromwell’s revolution in which kings are fair game. He bounces around Europe trying to get support. Then after the Battle of Worcester, he’s literally hiding in trees while soldiers search for him in the woods. He has all these mad encounters with people who say, ‘You look just like the King’, and he replies, ‘No, he’s taller’.
“Later, when Charles is going around Europe, no one really knows whether they should sponsor him or not because they want to keep Cromwell’s government sweet. So he has this very precarious existence.
“And then things change in England and he’s back in power.
“It’s extraordinary. He’s literally the Comeback King. He’s the Elvis of the monarchy. Knowing all of that, how could you not be interested in this man?”
In the wake of the recent coronation of King Charles III and all the focus on the splendour of the Crown Jewels, the play is freighted with modern resonance.
Al explains: “Inevitably, when someone’s trying to steal the Crown Jewels, you’ve got to ask, ‘What are they? What do they symbolise? What is the King without his crown?’
“There’s no kingship without the Crown Jewels. In them somehow resides the mystery of kingship.”
The play offers further echoes between then and now.
For example, it highlights the potential weakness of the State.
Al says: “Part of this crazy story is the fact that the Crown Jewels probably weren’t being protected by the highest security. That suggests a slapdash approach at the heart of Restoration England. Maybe nothing’s changed.”
The comedian continues: “Charles II comes in, and the idea is that the monarchy is restored.
“But he is up to his eyeballs in debt. He’s borrowing money from the French government and there’s considerable tension with his European partners.”
By the 1660s, “You’ve got The Great Plague, The Great Fire, and the Dutch sailing up the Thames to destroy the Royal Navy at Chatham. You’ve got an awful lot of calamity and catastrophe, and the government is trying to carry on as though nothing’s happening.”
Could we possibly draw any comparisons with today? “It’s not for me to say,” Al smiles.
“I’m throwing this out there. You draw your own conclusions.”
- The Crown Jewels is at the Garrick Theatre in London, garrick.londontheatres.co.uk
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