David Haig in the Madness of King George III with Beruce Khan and Ryan Saunders

David Haig chats about his latest role as mad King George, at the Cambridge Arts Theatre this October

David Haig in the Madness of King George III, standing at a desk

Daivd Haig is known to many through his acting roles in film and on television, including Four Weddings And A Funeral and Yes Prime Minister, as well as writing the acclaimed My Boy Jack. Now he is playing a part he’s always wanted to take on, as mad King George III in Alan Bennett’s play at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. He spoke to Holly Willis about the part, combining writing with acting and how poor he is at punting.

Q: How are rehearsals for the Madness of King George III going?

A: They started back in July so I’m getting excited now. I was first approached about playing King George over six months ago and it’s a part I’ve always wanted to do and it’s a fantastic play.

Q: What is it about the role of King George that makes it so special?

A: The character has such scale and humanity. The play starts on a high, with the supremacy of the royal family in the 18th century and the influence the monarchy had on parliament. Then the King folds into this pathetic insanity in the middle of the play and becomes distressed but also funny. That’s the great thing about Alan Bennett, who wrote the play, he’s always funny, even at his most tragic. Although the King goes to this low point he then recovers so it’s a great journey for any actor and hopefully any audience. It doesn’t end on a depressing note because, if it was porphyria, which is historically what people think the King had, he went into a long period of remission after this madness and didn’t have another relapse for about 10 years.

Q: You’ve been in a number of political comedies (Madness of King George III, Yes Prime Minister, The Thick Of It) what draws you to this sort of work?

A: Chance, not at all by design. I love watching them and being part of them but it certainly wasn’t a plan of mine to get involved in political comedy. Funnily enough, when I read King George I never thought of it as a political comedy. I saw it more as a Shakespearian tragi-comedy, I know that sounds pretentious, but I never thought of politics being at the front of the story. It’s also a political thriller – will the Regent get power or not?

Q: You also write plays, including the acclaimed My Boy Jack, which you’ve admitted was a real challenge, in what way?

A: I’ve written three stage plays and My Boy Jack was the first, back in the mid-90s when I started writing. For all my experience as an actor, when I first started writing that play it was exceptionally boring to read. I kept sending revised versions of it to friends and loyal directors and they’d say ‘no, it’s still tedious.’ Eventually they stopped saying that and then I thought maybe I was getting somewhere.

Q: What are you writing at the moment?

A: I’ve been commissioned to write a new stage play and I‘ve just finished the first draft. The Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh commissioned it as it involves a Scottish hero. The working title is ‘Pressure’ which is good as long as people don’t think of the David Bowie song. It’s not a comedy – I’ve done so much comedy as an actor over the years that when I start writing I don’t go in that direction. Hopefully there’s a sense of humour but it’s more about the main character who’s a very ordinary man. It’s a heroic story and an exciting adventure as much as anything.

Q: Would you like to move away from acting and focus more on your writing?

A: No, I like the balance of both. If I’ve done a long run in the West End there’s nothing nicer than coming home and sitting in-front of a computer for a month or two. Vice-versa, I’ve had a long stretch writing this play and I’m very ready to go back into the social atmosphere of rehearsal.

Q: Do you find sitting alone writing a difficult discipline?

A: No, but I know doing it for too long isn’t good for me. I’ll stop going out, start worrying about pain in my right toe – that sort of thing. It’s just too insular, so I know when the right time is to go back into acting.

Q: What are you planning to do next?

A: We are hoping to do another series of The Thick Of It next year but the producers are juggling Armando Iannucci’s schedule (which is complex and wonderful!) so we’ll see.

Q: Do you know Cambridge at all?

A: Yes, I’ve toured here many times over the years and I love it. I always like coming to Cambridge and I enjoy walking along the river. I love the Cambridge Arts Theatre because it’s so intimate. One of the challenges of coming to this theatre is that usually on a tour you’ve been in big 1,500-seater theatres. I always feel for a Cambridge audience because for the first couple of nights it’s likely to be shouted at them because the Arts Theatre is such a beautifully intimate space. I’m determined to cut the volume the minute I get there this time. I like Cambridge and Oxford, not because they’re university towns particularly but I’ve always thought if I didn’t live in London I’d live in one of them.

Q: Can you punt?

A: Yes, I have punted in my time but I’m not very good. I’ve never ended up in the water but I’ve been present when others have.