Al Murray’s crowning debut at ‘royal occasion of the 12 months’

When making ready for the position of King Charles II in his new West End comedy The Crown Jewels, comic and actor Al Murray knew the right particular person to go to for recommendation – 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 by no means acquired a response. Yet absolutely his regal efficiency will quickly see him despatched to the House of Lords? “Or the Tower of London,” he laughs.

The Tower performs a key position on this surprisingly topical present, which opens on Wednesday.

A contemporary remodeling of a Restoration comedy, the play by Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly, The Durrells) takes us again to a time when England was basking within the afterglow of the coronation of a brand new king referred to as Charles.

Cheekily promoting itself as “The Royal Event of the Year,” The Crown Jewels recounts the astonishing true story of how in 1671 the unstable Irish officer Colonel Thomas Blood (performed by Aidan McArdle) plotted probably the most audacious theft in historical past – stealing the Crown Jewels in plain sight from probably the most impregnable fortress within the land.

Blood tricked his manner into the Tower of London by disguising himself as an individual. Having clonked the newly appointed Master of the Jewel House on the top with a mallet, Blood used the identical hammer to beat St Edward’s Crown right into a disc, so he might conceal it in his clerical robes.

The Sceptre with the Cross was too giant for a swag bag, so a fellow conspirator sawed it in half. Meanwhile, a 3rd legal hid the Sovereign’s Orb down his breeches.

Murray marvels on the unimaginable story: “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 greatest recognized for his comedian 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 12 months he takes the character on a significant tour, entitled Guv Island.

The Crown Jewels, which additionally stars such thespian royalty as Mel Giedroyc, Neil Morrissey and Joe Thomas, marks Al’s West End appearing debut.

The comic was initially desiring to take the summer time off, however was persuaded to deal with the position of Charles II by the energy of Simon’s script and by his accomplice.

The comic remembers: “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 frightened that some individuals may come alongside to The Crown Jewels anticipating him to play Charles II as a Seventeenth-century model 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 could also be taking the position too severely.

“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 additionally co-written one other West End present, Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image the Musical, outlines the opposite 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 factor this Charles II won’t ever 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.”

Yet one merchandise 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 actually had an astonishing life. Al, who has a level in historical past from Oxford, displays: “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 current coronation of King Charles III and all of the concentrate on the splendour of the Crown Jewels, the play is freighted with trendy 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 gives additional echoes between then and now.

For instance, it highlights the potential weak point 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 comic 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 probably draw any comparisons with right this moment? “It’s not for me to say,” Al smiles.

“I’m throwing this out there. You draw your own conclusions.”