English Kings Killing Foreigners at Camden People’s Theatre

“How much do you enjoy audience participation, on a scale of one to ten?” Nina Bowers and Phil Arditti bound onto the small stage with puppy-like energy, their autobiographical, metatheatrical double-act debut fizzing with chemistry that does not flatten in the 80-minute work. With intermittent fourth-wall breaking, writing on acting and commentary on wokeness, English Kings Killing Foreigners sets the “potential for cringe” alarm bells ringing. But, the duo, who have written, directed and performed the work, manage to weave a witty, self-aware and thought-provoking drama, centring the political power of theatre, the knotty clash of generational perspectives on immigrant identity and the self-conscious exclusivity of the acting world.

The scene is set outside the locked door of a rehearsal space, where two members of superstar director Stuart Dunlop’s Henry V are running late and trapped outside. The ensuing debacle in trying to open the door to the important first rehearsal is an immediate comment on how these two actors, neither having grown up in Shakespeare’s England, are figuratively – and literally – left out in the cold, unable to feel fully at home in white establishment theatre.

Arditti is older: a Turkish Jewish man who fawns over the system, accepting that his purist stage work will be supplemented by disproportionate roles playing terrorists on TV. He trained at RADA, and makes sure to drop in that he has worked with Dunlop several times before, in an affected voice that gives no hint of his foreign upbringing. Bowers is a young, Black, mixed-race Canadian woman, who is unapologetically vocal about her scepticism of England, the acting establishment and Shakespeare itself. Arditti is sincere, patronising and kind; Bowers is vibrant, emotional and hot-headed. Together they are an enticing match, sparring on political correctness, how and if one should “fit in”, and where the emphasis should lie in Henry V’s infamous “breach speech”. After using Arditti’s crowbar – he is a fight-scene specialist – to attempt to break down the door, a blaring alarm is set off.

Sirens wail and a shock call from producer Victoria reveals that they have not, in fact, caused the chaos: Stuart Dunlop has had a stroke. Stuart Dunlop is dead!

The coup de théâtre is exaggerated and almost effective, though it jars the audience slightly out of the impressively smooth flow of the building dialogue. Arditti calls time, addressing the audience with “I think we should play a game”. Whilst formal experimentation is often an exciting staple in fringe theatre, the “throw a softball at an actor” game feels a little gratuitous, but does make fun use of the immediate closeness between performers and audience. Afterwards, Bowers paces anxiously, rehearsing Henry V’s lines: she has been cast to replace Dunlop.

Despite the excessive use of tennis balls, in general the animated energy level is a victory for the pair: they ignite the sparse, modest space, giving as much of themselves as one would hope for at the National, but here the audience are able to revel in the microscopic detail of their work. The craft of acting is mocked lovingly, and when Bowers “shoots” Arditti with a hand pistol, he collapses in sensational slow-mo, each spasm amplified in a gruesome close-up. The lengthy “actors’ warm up” sequence risks tipping into self-indulgence, but remains authentic in the fact that the performers have so clearly completed it many times, with coexisting respect for the work and self-consciousness at its silliness.

The writing is most compelling when Bowers suggests that Arditti replace “English” with “Turkish” in the “youth of England are on fire” speech. He goes on to describe “Jewish Kings”, which is incompatible with Turkey’s Muslim faith, so Bowers asks him to replace Turkish with Israeli. The tension in the room is palpable, as he explains that he feels uncomfortable with the adjustment, clarifying that he does NOT support what is happening “over there”. Bowers asks if feeling uncomfortable is a bad thing.

English Kings Killing Foreigners is a rare gem, with slick production and raucous laughter spilling onto stage. Whilst the writing ironically risks too many actors’ “in-jokes”, the show’s intelligent writing, honest humanity and raw entertainment make this a must-see production.

Ellen Wilkinson

English Kings Killing Foreigners is at Camden People’s Theatre from 23^rd April until 11^th May 2024. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.