The Crown Jewels

-

Readers familiar with Radio 4's Front Row will be wondering if KeepYourPowderDry is muscling in on Samira Ahmed's post-Archers slot on the nation's airwaves. Fear not. But this is a first for KeepYourPowderDry...a theatrical review.

A trip down to that there London saw KeepYourPowderDry visit the Garrick Theatre, for the self styled 'riotous new comedy' set around Captain Blood's attempt to steal the crown jewels.


Written by Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly), and directed by Sean Foley (Upstart Crow); the Crown Jewels stars Al Murray as King Charles II. He’s joined by a star-studded cast: Carrie Hope Fletcher, Mel Giedroyc, Neil Morrissey, Joe Thomas, Aidan McArdle, and Tanvi Virmani.

Not Al Murray

Based upon the somewhat incredulous story of Captain Blood's attempted theft of the crown jewels, the script allows the cast enough leeway to exploit their talents as stand up comedians. (I'm trying really hard not to give any spoilers here, can you tell?) 

At times this verges upon becoming historical panto. All I'll say is, those of you who, like I, baulk at the thought of being 'picked', perhaps best not to sit in the front two rows of the stalls, or on the front row upstairs. As this is a comedy starring Al Murray as Charles II, ladies might be more in the firing line than men. 


The cast are clearly enjoying their day job, adlibbing and trying to stifle their own laughter. An enjoyable couple of hours, which I think I might well be going to see again when it goes on tour. 

The Crown Jewels is at the Garrick until the 16th September, before it heads out for a limited run across the country: The Lowry, Salford 19th - 23rd September; The Marlowe, Canterbury 25th ‐ 30th September; New Theatre, Cardiff 3rd - 7th October; Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes 10th - 14th October.

If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider supporting the blog. 
Thanks.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coat Colours Part 1: Parliamentarian Regiments of Foot

-
Image
When I first started my Civil War gaming project I relied upon the many ECW coat colour tables on wargaming websites. As my project has progressed, my library has got bigger, my research has gone back to primary sources rather than relying upon second and third hand sources; and I have noticed quite a few errors in these lists for wargamers. I have also noticed the same errors appearing in multiple lists.     As a result of continually seeing 'the London Trained Bands and their Auxiliaries wore red coats' (there is no evidence supporting this at all, the evidence, whilst not explicit suggests that the London Trained Bands wore civilian clothes - some of the Auxiliaries might have been issued with blue winter coats) I decided to write my own list.  So here it is. If your allegiance lies elsewhere you might want to look at  Introduction   Part 2  Royalist coat colours Part 3  Scots coat colours Part 3B  Montrose and the Irish Brigade Pa
Read more

Naseby - a Visitor's Guide

-
Image
Updated. As the Naseby Battlefield Project appear to want to steer you towards a guided tour of the battlefield, here's the information that you need for a self-guided tour. Back in the day when this blog was knee high to a grasshopper I wrote an entry about visiting Naseby, with a picture of the obelisk and a few postcodes for some of the landmarks on the battlefield. I also vowed to return. I have (several times). So here is a more definitive (and up to date) visitor's guide to Naseby battlefield. In my previous blog entry I suggested using a Battlefield Trail Guide from The Naseby Battlefield Project website , but this has disappeared from their website ; so, here is my guide to the locations. There were audio clips for each location (again via the Battlefield Project website) but these appear to have disappeared too. The information boards are being updated, most sites have shiny new information boards in situ; some still have QR codes for the audio guide (don't tr
Read more

Which Figures? Part 2b: True 15mm/Epic Compatibility - Foot

-
Image
My original Which Figures posts have grown exponentially, so much so that I decided to revise the information. For the full picture see:- Which Figures?   - the original post, where I ruminate about what I want from figures, and what led me to choose Peter Pig Which Figures? What is Available   - the state of play with current 'ECW' 15mm figure ranges; a continually updating look at what figures are available, and what is included/missing from ranges. Which Figures? Part 2a: Size Matters: Foot   - I take a look at what is available in 15/18mm and show side by side comparisons  Coming Soon Which Figures? Part 2b: True 15mm/Epic Compatibility: Foot   - a more in depth look at smaller 15mm compatibility Which Figures? Part 3a: Size Matters: Horses   - I take a look at what is available in 15/18mm and show side by side comparisons Which Figures? Part 3b: True 15mm/Epic Compatibility: Horses   - a more in depth look at smaller 15mm compatibility I had a little rummage in my spares b
Read more

Celtic Soul Brothers

-
Image
Any excuse to drop a Dexy's song title into a blog entry... hopefully the earworm doesn't last too long. This post takes a long hard look at the new brace of supplements for For King And Parliament. Neither of these supplements were penned by Mr Miller, instead their authors are Bill Linhart, Peter Page, and Paul Reynolds. And they are to be commended for pushing the conflicts from the other two kingdoms (that make up the Wars of the Three Kingdoms).  Scotland and Ireland, in particular, are very much the poor relations in comparison to the English components of the Wars. The first volume is "The Celtic Fringe", a 26 page book of supplementary rules. Whilst written for For King And Parliament, they could well be an excellent starting point for those who play other rulesets. There are rules for the different troop types associated with the various Scots and Irish armies, so archers, highlanders, lancers, 'rabble'; and rules covering associated terrain for these
Read more

Warlord Pike and Shotte Epic Battles: the infantry sprue

-
Image
Firstly a big thank you to Warlord Games who sent me a sprue of their new Pike and Shotte Epic Battles infantry. (You can see how I got on with the cavalry sprue here. ) I will try and look at these figures from three different angles: the first impression of someone completely new to the period, the button counter’s standpoint, and then from a seasoned wargamer’s point of view. In all cases I'm looking at these through Wars of the Three Kingdoms spectacles. (Wars of the Three Kingdoms is a more accurate name for the conflicts that were fought in the British Isles in the mid seventeenth century. The English Civil War was just one of these conflicts.) The obligatory next to a ruler picture (the ruler is lined up with the soles of their footwear) The 'new to the period' view This one sprue provides enough figures for one unit (a Regiment of Foot or RoF). Figures look very detailed, moulding is clean and crisp with no flash and only minimal mould lines. The pikes look a bit d
Read more

Which Figures? Part 2a: Size Matters: Foot

-
Image
Finally, here is the first of the long promised size comparison shots. This post looking at foot figures.  For the full picture see:- Which Figures?   - the original post, where I ruminate about what I want from figures, and what led me to choose Peter Pig. Which Figures? What is Available   - the state of play with current 'ECW' 15mm figure ranges; a continually updating look at what figures are available, and what is included/missing from ranges. No commentary on figure size or ruler action (that's down to parts 2a and 3a).    Which Figures? Part 2a: Size Matters: Foot  - I show side by side comparisons of what is available in 15/18mm, with the obligatory ruler shots. This post. Which Figures? Part 2b: True 15mm/Epic Compatibility: Foot   - a more in depth look at smaller 15mm compatibility Which Figures? Part 3a: Size Matters: Horses  - I show side by side comparisons of what is available in 15/18mm (obligatory ruler content too)  Which Figures? Part 3b: True 15mm/Epic C
Read more

The Farndon Massacre

-
Image
A somewhat dark and dour postcript to the Battle of Naseby. War is a dreadful thing, amongst all of the horrific things that human inflicts upon other human in the name of 'war' there are some events that stand out as atrocities:   o ne such atrocity took place in the aftermath of the battle of Naseby.  There are many atrocities attributed to one side or the other during the Civil Wars, but when you look into most of these atrocities, hard evidence can be hard to find to support the hyperbole of the pamphleteers. An oft recycled pamphlet image of an atrocity: originally used for an event in the south west, then Leicester, then York . The events that befell the Royalist baggage train after Naseby are fairly unique in that both sides report pretty much the same story, and a 1660 Petition to Charles II supports the story. Naseby is  all but lost and panicking Royalist troops start fleeing north towards Market Harborough, and the baggage train flees too. Anyone who has ever walked
Read more

Coat Colours Part 2: Royalist Regiments of Foot

-
Image
Continuing my therapeutic blogging (write rather than rant) antidote to incorrect English Civil War coat colour tables for wargamers, I give you the Royalist Regiments of Foot. For all of my coat colour articles see: Introduction   Part 1  Parliamentarian coat colours Part 3  Scots coat colours Part 3B  Montrose and the Irish Brigade Part 4  Dragoons, Horse and the New Model Army coat colours The Trained Bands London Trained Bands Auxiliary regiments Scarves   Same rules apply here, as they did with the Parliamentarian coat colours: Regiments often got renamed when command passed to a new colonel - these regiments are listed under their first name e.g. Jacob Astley's Regiment was originally Richard Fielding's Regiment. Coat colour notes refer to contemporaneous references and some of the deductions made by Reid, Spring,  Peachey and Prince. You will also notice that some regiments have several coat colours listed. Where there is some question around a coat colour I have t
Read more

Radio 4 Real Dictators

-
Image
Jings and crivens, a bonus post on a not-Monday. Be still my beating heart. Once again the leading British talk radio station dips its toe in the preserve of North Derbyshire's premier Civil War blog. Cromwell's Statue at Parliament BBC Radio 4 has a series on dictators. Four of the latest batch of episodes cover Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. So just shy of 3 1/2 hours on such issues as the origin of the story of his abduction by a monkey as a baby. I've not ploughed my way through the three episodes currently available, but what I've listened to so far is very good, balanced and accurate.  Just ignore the inevitable gaffs such as the description of regiments of foot at Edgehill at the start of episode 2; the description of Boye; Rupert's lobsters; and a goose stepping New Model Army. You can find episode 1 here . The BBC Sounds app should automatically open the following episodes. The series will be available online until mid April 2025. If you enjoyed reading t
Read more

Livestock

-
Image
 Every agrarian economy needs livestock, even in 15mm land. So I thought I'd better provide some. My inner model railway modeller/ reader of glossy rule books with idyllic 'scenes' voice told me I needed more, yes more, battlefield clutter. First up are some piggies. These are from Hovels, and were extras from my    'Pig Sty' 18D5 (from their ancients range). Next up are some chickens. There should probably be lots more of these, but can I face painting beaks and combs on such tiny things? Yes, I can. So no doubt there will be more of these at some point, when I next place an order with Pendraken. Considering England's wealth was based upon the wool trade I thought I should have lots of sheep. Is forty sheep a lot? Enough to make a landowner fat and wealthy from the profits. Probably not. More will arrive from Pendraken at some point I'm sure. Pendraken have a very useful range of animals in a plethora of figure sizes, one of their cats is located on a Parl
Read more