Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

It may have a meagre script and no plot but Farinelli and the King is still a major work of art

Plus: Rachel Cusk’s Medea at the Almeida isn’t a bad piece of yuppie soap, but it’s hardly Medea

issue 10 October 2015
  • Comments

  • Farinelli and the King

    Duke of York’s Theatre, until 5 December

  • Medea

    Almeida, until 14 November

Philippe V was a Bourbon prince who secured the throne of Spain using his family connections. Claire van Kampen is a writer who relied on the same method to secure a West End opening for her play about Philippe. It stars Mark van Kampen (aka Mark Rylance) as the charmingly dotty Frenchman.

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY A MONTH FREE
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Try a month of Britain’s best writing, absolutely free.

Read next

Trending

Mark Galeotti

Victory Day has been a good day for Vladimir Putin

It was almost like old times, but also a sign of the new. Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day parade passed off without a hitch, rumbling and squeaking with armour, untroubled by Ukrainian drones, and watched over by foreign leaders there in a sign of support. Yet the efforts made to ensure the parade ran smoothly, the

More on baroque

Also by Lloyd Evans

Latest

Comments

Join the debate, free for a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.

Already a subscriber? Log in