How man who became King found his voice

THE extraordinary true story of George VI, who accidentally became King and was thrust on to the world stage, is being told at the Watermill in Bagnor from today (Friday).

David Seidler’s play, The King’s Speech, looks at how King George, known as “Bertie”, had battled with a stammer since childhood.

When his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated, Bertie became monarch and had to prepare to become a public speaker. With the help of a therapist, he battled to control his speech impediment.

Meanwhile, the Second World War was on the horizon and the stakes were getting higher.

Actor Arthur Hughes is playing Bertie’s longstanding speech therapist, Lionel Logue.

The 32-year-old has enjoyed getting under the skin of Logue, who came to England from Australia with his wife and family in the Twenties.

Arthur says: “It’s a remarkable story, it’s a beautiful story of friendship between these two men. It’s a real odd couple, they just couldn’t be more different.

“What I liked, reading the part of Lionel, is that he’s a provocateur. He’s an actor, he’s a failed actor, but he is an actor, and so I understand what that’s like.

“But he’s cheeky and he’s incredibly empathetic, he really feels a deep empathy and I think in the end loved this man in getting him to where he needs to go.

“I think he feels the need to help people and his methods for doing that are unorthodox.

“He really winds Bertie up, and I think he kind of enjoys that in a way, because he knows that’s how they will make progress.

“So, I love being cheeky and having fun with it — he loves to have fun.

“I think anyone wants to do a part that is a lot of fun, but I think because there’s so much empathy and care within that, it gives you a real scope to do a fine performance. There’s a lot to play and that’s always great.”

Bertie became King on December 11, 1936, after his brother abdicated in order to marry American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. His coronation took place on May 12, 1937, the date that was originally intended for Edward VIII’s.

He had to make a wartime radio broadcast when Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Arthur says: “On the advent of the Second World War, the real backdrop, you have these intense micro scenes, the smaller setting. The larger setting is of course his elder brother’s abdication and so him having to step up with his stammer to now speak to the world.

“There’s also Lionel’s relationship with his wife. They are Australians in Thirties England, which has its challenges, and they have their own challenges within their marriage, of honesty and what their future will look like, whether going home or staying. That’s all kind of rumbling around.

“It’s such a well-written play, it’s very efficient and economic with emotions and it doesn’t linger on things. David Siegler is economical with his words and it’s fantastically written.”

Arthur was the first disabled actor to play the eponymous lead in Richard III two years ago at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. He has radial dysplasia, a congenital condition where he has a shortened forearm.

He says: “What we think of disability in the modern sense is disability is something that is happening to you by society, instead of something inherent with you. I think where we are now with how we think of people with stammers is very different and I think Bertie is absolutely testament to that, a turning point.

“A man with a pronounced stammer became king and the current [US] President Joe Biden had a stammer. So I guess for me playing Lionel, we don’t make any reference to it in the play but I think it just does enough by having a disabled actor on stage.”

The Watermill is an ideal setting for the story, says Arthur. “It’s lovely, it’s very beautiful and rural and it’s quite a small theatre.

“The watermill is visible through a glass panel as you walk into the theatre with water gushing underneath it which is just amazing really.

“I think the intimacy of the space will be great for this play. The scenes that make up the majority of the play are these therapy sessions between Logue and the king and they are quite intense scenes and intensely private, what goes on in there. So, I think it will be excellent in such a small space. Chris Naylor, who is playing the archbishop, Cosmo Lang, he and I worked on a Dr Who audio book — type adventure with Tom Baker probably eight or nine years ago.

“We’ve seen each other throughout the years since but never worked together on stage. So, it’s lovely to work with him and he’s a lovely man and the rest of the cast are a really nice bunch, really lovely to work with. I’m very lucky and I feel like I know them all now.”

• The King’s Speech is at the Watermill Theatre, near Bagnor, from today (Friday) to Saturday, November 2. Tickets cost from £20 and the play is most suitable for ages 12 and over. For more information and to book, call the box office on 01635 46044 or visit www.watermill.org.uk