The Windsors: Endgame at Prince of Wales Theatre
The Windsors: Endgame is hardly a highbrow comedy. Featuring the same crude, crass sense of humour as the TV show, it throws a range of audacious, ballsy jokes at the audience with no sense of shame whatsoever, and in doing so it becomes a fantastic satire that one can hardly help but enjoy. The humour is just a hilariously brutish, resulting in a fantastic show all around.
Fans of the series will be thrilled that four members of the cast reprise their roles for the stage adaptation. Tom Durant-Pritchard is the stupidly naïve Prince Harry, Matthew Cottle the useless Prince Edward, who acts here as a part-time narrator, Tim Wallers is the obviously guilty Prince Andrew and Harry Enfield the beautifully egotistical, homeopathy and monarchy-obsessed Prince Charles. They are supported by a range of new faces who all do a smashing job in embracing their roles – notably Tracy-Ann Oberman as the evil mastermind Camilla, Kara Tointon as meek yet fierce Kate and Crystal Condie as publicity-addicted Meghan.
The plot is about as silly as one would expect. With Prince Philip dead, the Queen abdicates and leaves Charles the throne. Thanks to an error in the Brexit divorce bill, he is able to establish an absolute monarchy and becomes a feudal overlord, leaving it up to William, Kate, Harry and Meghan to stop him in his tracks and save the constitution. Everything fits neatly together and just works, including the side plot involving Prince Andrew’s family. Unfortunately, someone thought it would be a great idea to include several songs as part of the show, and while the lyrics are suitably funny and not to be taken seriously, the cast are better actors than they are singers and the melodies are largely forgettable, making them more of a cumbersome addition to the mix.
But this hardly matters, especially considering the production features a gorgeous set design by Madeleine Girling, which looks like a wonderfully kitschy copy of a real royal palace. This is mixed beautifully with Hillary Lewis’s costumes that could be straight out of the original TV show. All in all, The Windsors: Endgame is wonderful to look at, hilariously entertaining and just a damned good way to spend a night out – especially for fans of the TV show.
Michael Higgs
Photo: Marc Brenner
The Windsors: Endgame is at Prince of Wales Theatre from 2nd August until 9th October 2021. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.
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