Archduke at Royal Court Theatre Review
Photo: Helen Murray
Written by Eloise for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own
Content warnings: sudden loud noises, including a gunshot, and haze. Descriptions of violence and descriptions of death and suicide.
Belgrade, 1914, a new and humorous take on what would happen if three desperate and hungry men with tuberculosis were tempted into murdering Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Archduke is written by Rajiv Joseph, American playwright, known for his Pulitzer Prize winning play The Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.
The play follows three men offered a chance to make a name for themselves in martyrdom by killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. The play opens with two of the young men meeting - having been sent to this mysterious location by their doctor who is giving away boys with tuberculosis to the elusive ‘Captain’. This opening scene is a wonderful duologue and is excellently constructed from a writing perspective. This will be a popular scene study at drama schools! We feel immediately understanding of Gavrilo (Stanley Morgan) and Nedeljko (Chris Walley) and their situation, and can understand why they may be seeking purpose in their lives which are presented as pretty bleak up until this point. Once they are taken to the Captain, (Marc Wootton) the plan to kill the Archduke is revealed, and the boys are groomed with good food, cooked by Sladjana (the only female character in the play, played by Janice Connolly), fine suits, and the promise of purpose.
The play does a good job, despite being set in 1914, of displaying the real and current pressures young men face to present as masculine and driven. In a society today where men and young boys are being increasingly groomed by internet ideologies - this play shows why a man may be susceptible to that world. Especially with characters such as the charismatic Dragutin (The Captain) hilariously and melodramatically represented by Marc Wootton. However, the relevance stops there. The individual scenes all work very well – however, when pieced together something doesn’t quite work.
The set is impressive; designed by Es Devlin. The stage transformed into an industrial cocoon which mimics the bottom of a ship. However, after the first scene, only set and props were added to transform the scenes - which seemed a shame to waste the scale and uniqueness of the cocoon structure. Although, the addition of a train carriage in the second act was a beautiful piece of set design, it would have been even better had the door been working! Regardless, the highlight of Archduke was its design.
The lighting design (Neil Austin) in the first scene shadowing the characters as they walk on was beautiful - and these brilliant pieces of stage artistry continued throughout. Skylar Fox worked on this production as illusion designer, and having worked on shows such as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it shows! Sandwiches and forks appearing out of nowhere, magic tricks and sleight of hand happening in front of the audiences’ eyes - it kept every physical moment interesting. This also linked to the dreamy quality which lurked within some of the scenes - highlighted even further in the lighting design.
Despite Marc Wootton giving a somewhat melodramatic performance, it was very much a hit with the press night audience. All actors balanced the humour, tragedy and drama expertly. Chris Walley and Stanley Morgan make a lovable double act, full of energy and emotion - later joined by Abraham Popoola who eventually fits right into the dynamic. Janice Connolly is witchy and spirited as Sladjana - however the writing and direction giving into the archetype of an older female character being presented as a witch of dark magic seems a shame. There could have been more development to Sladjana’s character and especially her relationship to the Captain. The end of act one suggests we may find out more about this - but we never do.
Overall Archduke made me laugh, the performances were solid, and visually there were some moments of real spectacle. However, Archduke tries to pack too much into underdeveloped characters with a lack of direction as to what the main story really wants to say.
Archduke is playing at The Royal Court Theatre Downstairs from June 27th to July 25th, 2026. It runs for two hours with an interval.
★★★
