“I was just astonished at his knowledge of actors,” said Tamara Harvey, the theater’s co-artistic director
Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- King Charles made a surprise appearance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, to watch the production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest on May 22
- “I was just astonished at his knowledge of actors. You get the impression he’s a true enthusiast of the theater,” said Tamara Harvey, the theater’s co-artistic director
- In addition to taking a tour of the theater’s in-house costume department during intermission, the King went backstage to congratulate the cast and crew after the show
King Charles is immersing himself in the world of classic theater.
During a recent visit to Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on Friday, May 22, the King, 77, paid a surprise visit to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre to watch their production of Shakespeare's The Tempest.
While he arrived at the theater and took his seat in the sold-out audience just moments before the curtain went up, the monarch was handed a drink during the intermission and was brought backstage for a tour of the theater's in-house costume department.
Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty
In addition to describing the pieces as “brilliant” during his tour, according to the BBC and ITV News, King Charles admired a replica crown backstage, touched the fabric of a dress worn by Dame Judi Dench in a 2003 production of All's Well That Ends Well and stopped to appreciate another costume worn by Sir Antony Sher in a 1984 production of Richard III.
The theater's co-artistic directors, Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, deemed the surprise visit nothing less than a “tremendous honor,” according to the outlets.
“I think he genuinely enjoyed it,” Harvey said, noting that King Charles was “laughing away” during the performance.
“When Guy Henry came on, who plays Stephano, he reached over to me and said ‘Is that Guy Henry?' " she continued. "I was just astonished at his knowledge of actors. You get the impression he's a true enthusiast of the theater.”
At the end of the play, King Charles gave the performers a standing ovation before going backstage to congratulate members of the cast and crew.
“It was a tremendous honour to welcome His Majesty the King back to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for this landmark production of The Tempest,” Evans and Harvey said in a statement, going on to note that the occasion marks “both Sir Kenneth Branagh's historic return to Stratford-upon-Avon for the first time in over 30 years and Sir Richard Eyre's debut with the company after a long and distinguished career directing for the British stage.”
The King's night at the theater came just one day after he was spotted picking up a ukulele and beginning to play alongside the Loughries Men's Shed during a May 21 visit to Ards Allotments in County Down, Northern Ireland.
Credit: Toby Melville / POOL / AFP via Getty
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“Growing friendship and connection,” the official Royal Family account wrote alongside a clip of the musical collaboration on X. "Thank you to Loughries Men's Shed for the wonderful ukulele music!"
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