Monarchs Anonymous at The Other Palace is as absurd as it sounds: what happens when a band of monarchs through time find themselves in group therapy? Led by the – seemingly level-headed – Dr Thompson, their session is thrown into chaos when it is discovered that their secrets have been leaked to the press. But by who? And will they put their differences aside to find out?
What follows is an hour and fifty minutes of royal hijinks, with jousting-based trust exercises, a weapon amnesty box filled with hobby horses, and a sprinkling of audience participation. We are to be therapised too, smelling the flowers and blowing out the candles, to later find out that the press informant is closer to home than we realise.
Bringing the original YouTube series to the stage, the creators and team at Ceridwen Theatre Company have tough competition in terms of historical comedy. They name Horrible Histories and Blackadder as inspiration, and the former is clear, especially in portrayals of Charles II and Henry VIII, expertly and camply done by Joshua Poole (co-writer) and William Harry Mitchell. In fact, the whole cast embody their characters with gusto – George Eggay has particularly good comic timing as lesser-known figure Mansa Musa I. Those seated on his side of the stage will get the full effect of his bumbling, running commentary as the session unravels.
While Monarchs Anonymous has an enthusiastic cast and intriguing concept – a Horrible Histories for adults with a little political commentary – it struggles to find its feet at times. Objectively, we can tell where the jokes are, but not all of them hit, and the laughter doesn’t spread across the entire audience as it should. In a similar vein, the conclusion of the story bounces back and forth for longer than necessary, with the potential to create a restless audience. The script could have been shaved to spotlight the surprisingly moving reflection speeches at the end.
Although it’s not the belly-laugh-a-minute we might anticipate, we can tell the cast are having a brilliant time larking about. The show does well to turn caricatures of historical figures into people we care about, great for history nerds and novices alike. If you want to learn a fact or two and laugh at some ridiculous twists and turns, Monarchs Anonymous is the show for you.
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