Mr Dramaturgy's Queen Victoria: Bob Kingdom @ Edfringe 2016

MR. KINGDOM’S QUEEN VICTORIA (OR A LITTLE OF WHAT YOU FANCY)

Written and performed by Bob Kingdom

In 2016, HRH Queen Elizabeth II may have taken the crown as the longest-reigning monarch but HRH Queen Victoria is back and taking up residency at the Assembly Hall from 4 August.

Legendary Fringe-First winner Bob Kingdom returns to Edinburgh with MR KINGDOM’S QUEEN VICTORIA (OR A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT YOU FANCY), a bittingly irreverant, painfully funny and strangely moving account of the Queen who ruled a ‘Kingdom’ (and an Empire). Opening at Assembly on 4 August (press from 6 August), it promises all the zest of a classic Victorian comedy.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

I look for people it might be fun to play and write about. Queen Victoria, why not? What would that be?

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

Richard Jordan, my producer, and l have worked  well together for 20 years and l have some very talented friends who help with everything else.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I used to impress people at drunken parties with my Dylan Thomas and they said you're wasting this. You ought to do it for real. They were right.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

Yes, you read a bit and think of ways of making it your own.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

Moments to be moved and to laugh by things they may not know that might surprise them.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

Keeping it simple, chair and table, text-driven communication in ways people can identify with.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

A good solo show should make us feel that the person in question is actually standing before us, expressing the private face behind the public one.

Kingdom’s critically acclaimed production, Dylan Thomas: Return Journey has been seen by over 80,000 people worldwide including sell-out seasons at London's Lyric Hammersmith, Off-Broadway and Sydney Opera House.

Having written and performed in productions featuring Truman Capote, Edward VIII and Stan Laurel, Bob turns his offers his take on Victoria as you’ve never seen her before.