Love upon the throne - Patrick Barlow

The National Theatre of Brent present the full and unexpurgated romance, courtship and matrimonial proceedings of His Royal Highness Prince Charles and Diana Princess of Wales. Tastefully crammed into a single profound and unforgettable playtext.

Patrick Barlow's play Love Upon the Throne is a gleefully comic retelling of the Charles and Diana story, designed to be performed by two (male) actors.

It was first staged at the Edinburgh Festival in 1998, then at the Bush Theatre, London, and the Comedy Theatre in the West End.

Patrick Barlow is an English actor, comedian and playwright. His comedic alter ego, Desmond Olivier Dingle, is the founder, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the two-man National Theatre of Brent, which has performed on stage, on television and on radio.

As a playwright, his work includes: a stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (West Yorkshire Playhouse, 2005, then Tricycle Theatre and West End, as well as productions in Australia, New Zealand and Broadway); The Wonder of Sex (National Theatre, London, 2001); Love Upon the Throne (Edinburgh Festival and West End, 1998); and The Messiah (Tricycle Theatre, London, 1983; revived in a new version for a UK tour, 2018).

'The extraordinary thing about Love Upon the Throne is that it pulls off the impossible: it is extremely funny without being offensive. And this is because, beneath the jokes... it is a melancholy modern history play'

'Grateful tears of laughter coursed down my cheek... Pure joy'

'The show achieves real brilliance'