Review: THE THRONE By John Goldsmith at Charing Cross Theatre 29 June – 30 July 2022

‘There are no extremes or surprises, but John Goldsmith’s smart script contains enough to engage the brain and provide some gentle laughs’ ★★★

Not every play needs to have a surprise ending or go in a direction that is a shock as not clearly signposted. Not every play needs to have big shifts in tempo or take the audience into uncomfortable areas of discussion or meaning. And not every play needs to be flashy or ‘in your face’. Sometimes, it is enough for a nice idea to be nicely realised and neatly ended. And, thus, we have The Throne.

The time is the Summer of 2002, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, and Her Majesty is set to visit Dudley Goring Comprehensive School to open its new science lab. Ahead of this tumultuous occurrence, the headmaster (a suitably twitchy Michael Joel Bartelle) has had to sort out and specially instal a royal lavatory due to an ill-timed, and some might say mysterious, flooding. The head’s Head of Science Dr Derek Jones - Charlie Condou - pops back into school ahead of the visit to locate his mobile phone charger (and, yes, this is important), refuses to wear a tie for the visit, resigns after an argument, and ultimately finds himself locked in the aforementioned toilet.

Enter The Queen, played with a quiet delight by the wonderful Mary Roscoe, and with then pair of them locked in together, seemingly by means of an un-named terrorist, and you have the potential for high farce, a raft of puns and double entendres - something approaching Ray Cooney territory. This possibility is heightened by the fact that Dr Jones is an outspoken republican whose general negative demeanour is enough to frustrate all those around him, including his few friends and (now) ex-wife. The first half sets this up quite nicely albeit in a, yes, under-stated and nice way.

But the farce never comes and instead we have an interesting and studied chat made real by two very fine actors, that covers and quotes everything and everyone from Francis Bacon to, yes, Indiana Jones. There are reflections and slight disagreements on the honours process, the value of celebrity, why the minor royals are bad (or not) and smoking. There is a sense of ‘teacher and pupil’ through the piece and this shifts in the second half when Dr Jones talks through his theories of science and thought, where Her Majesty becomes softer and more relaxed in and by his company.

There is, effectively, an under-stated linear narrative here that is ended smartly and without fuss. Both actors equip themselves well and, whilst the comedic possibilities do not deliver real and un-confined comedy, there are moments of clever humour and the odd comment of resonance to today and what is to come beyond 2002.

There are no extremes or surprises, but John Goldsmith’s smart script contains enough to engage the brain and provide some gentle laughs. And, thus, we have a night at the theatre that is, well, very nice.

Photos by Tristram Kenton

THE THRONE By John Goldsmith

Charing Cross Theatre 29 June – 30 July 2022

https://charingcrosstheatre.co.uk/theatre/the-throne

Cast: Charlie Condou, Mary Roscoe, Michael Joel Bartelle

Creatives: Director - Anthony Biggs, Set & Costume Designer - Gregor Donnelly, Lighting Designer - Chuma Emembolu, Sound Designer - Chris Drohan, Casting Director - Jane Deitch, Assistant Director - Steven Moore

Reviewed by Paul Maidment