A
play by
Alan Bennett, staged in 1991 at the
National Theatre, with
Nigel Hawthorne as
George III, possibly his most acclaimed
stage role. The director was
Nicholas Hytner.
It tells the story of the quarrelling of his doctors, politicians, and the Prince of Wales, as the king begins to go mad from porphyria in 1788.
The production toured to the United States, Greece, and Israel. Hawthorne received the 1992 Olivier Award and the London Critics Circle Best Actor Award for the NT run, and a Tony Award for the role in New York.
In 1995 a film was made out of it, also starring Hawthorne. It was retitled The Madness of King George for the United States market lest it sound like a sequel (allegedly).