Stage To Screen: The Madness of George III

King Lear may be the theater’s most famous depiction of a ruler descending into insanity, but a real-world monarch inspired another great play about a powerful man’s follies. The Madness of George III details the British king’s erratic behavior in the final years of his life and how it affected his closest associates and the country at large, told with a dark comic edge by playwright Alan Bennett (Forty Years On, The History Boys). The Bing’s ongoing Stage to Screen series will be presenting a filmed performance of a recent revival of the play, starring Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss as the titular king, and it’s as much a compelling historical drama as it is a portrait of how mental illness was treated in the 19th century.

Sun, Dec. 16 at 2 pm • $10 general, $4 students • Bing Crosby Theater • 901 W. Sprague • bingcrosbytheater.com • 227-7638