Old Vic: In Camera returns with new play Three Kings.
Since its closure in March, the Old Vic has been filled with memories rather than performances. At least, it was until last month, when Claire Foy and Matt Smith rocked up for London’s first socially-distanced theatre production, performing to an empty venue whilst the show broadcast to paying customers. Now, the second in the Old Vic: In Camera series has been announced, with Andrew Scott set to perform a brand new one-man play from playwright Stephen Beresford.
Scott has a strong recent history with the Old Vic; his unforgettable performance in last year’s revival of Nöel Coward’s Present Laughter had the critics swooning. This makes him a natural choice to tread the boards of the empty theatre, and his heartbreaking portrayal of Alex in Sea Wall, Simon Stephens’ acclaimed one-man play, probably didn’t hurt his case either. Up this time in the In Camera series is Three Kings, a world premiere which arrives on July 29, and will run for five powerful performances.
A play that deals with fathers and sons, and the “gifts and burdens of inheritance”, Three Kings sees Scott take the role of Patrick. On a visit by his absent father at the age of eight, Patrick is set the challenge of ‘The Three Kings’, which sets off a chain of events and revelations that forces us to confront our plans, disappointments, and delusions. Happily, the Old Vic have said it’s also “hilarious”, because focusing on disappointments and delusions after the year we’re having might be a tad too much…
Only five performances of Three Kings will be taking place, and given Scott’s now-infamous role as Fleabag’s hot priest, you can expect them to fly out the door. As with Lungs before it, the show will be available via camera only, with one thousand tickets available for every performance (matching the theatre’s usual capacity). Though tickets will be priced at the usual level – between £10-40 – each ‘seat’ will have exactly the same view, and the Old Vic is asking audiences to give what they can to help support the theatre at a time when their revenue has completely dried up. Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Wednesday, July 22 (Friends, Patrons, Benefactors, and Associates of the Old Vic get priority booking), and you can find them here.