Posted: Fri., Mar. 9, 2007, 2:24pm PT

Abroad

King Of Hearts

(Hampstead Theater; 325 Seats; £22 ($42.50) Top )

By David Benedict

LONDON A Hampstead Theater, Out of Joint, Sonia Friedman Prods. presentation of a play in two acts by Alistair Beaton. Directed by Ramin Gray, Max Stafford-Clark.

Nick - Justin Salinger Stephen - Jeff Rawle Richard - Ben Righton Nasreen - Zahra Ahmadi Annie - Caroline Loncq Marcus - Roddy Maude-Roxby Holbrook - Anthony O'Donnell Toby - Toby Dantzic Arthur - Christian Brassington Sir Terence Pitch - Alister Cameron

Richard, first in line to inherit the family business, is young, popular, handsome and heterosexual, all decidedly useful attributes when the job in question is being Britain's next king. The only trouble is he has been meeting a woman in secret and he intends to marry her. And she's Muslim. Alistair Beaton's latest political satire certainly has a promising, none-too-far-fetched premise. Unfortunately, the play's form and tone are mis-matched. Like a car not firing on all cylinders, the amiable "King of Hearts" proceeds in fits and starts.

Nick (nicely self-centered, forceful Justin Salinger) is the publicly smooth, privately aggressive Blair-esque prime minister who, together with his leader of the opposition plus sundry political, religious and royal staff, is holed up in the royal palace at Sandringham. In Tim Shortall's efficient design, that's a paneled white room with parquet floor and elegant but uncomfortable furnishings.

Next door, unseen, is the king. Shortly after ascending to the throne, he fell off a horse and wound up on a life-support machine. Backed by his redoubtable team headed by Annie (Caroline Loncq), smug Nick has assumed responsibility and delivered a studiedly sensitive address to the nation: "The king's life is moving peacefully toward its close."

Despite the misgivings of Roddy Maude-Roxby's amusingly quasi-narcoleptic archbishop of Canterbury, it has been decided the king will be taken off life support at 5 p.m. Suddenly, personal political gain demands they pull the plug earlier.

But, that plan goes out the window when the head of security (pompous, dim-witted Anthony O'Donnell) blows the cover on the prince's dangerous liaison. Now what? Keep the king alive as long as possible, of course.

Following all the play's early exposition, this is where the stakes need to rise as the events begin spiraling out of control. But Beaton unfortunately leaves the motor of the plot, the king, permanently off-stage. More fundamentally, the dislocation between the language and form means the dramatic temperature fails to rise. Beaton attempts to marry farce and satire but nails neither.

Farce is all about character revealed at high speed under frantic circumstances. Political comedy takes time in order to make its points through dialogue. Amusing though it is for Nick furiously to dismiss the idea of a Muslim consort -- "How would we be able to go to war with Iran?" -- the arguments are too discursive to keep the farce at all-important fever pitch.

Beaton's jibes at the expense of the politicians are bang on target -- "Multiculturalism is all very well, so long as we make the rules." He also gets laughs sailing even closer to the wind, as in the possible answer to the constitutional marital crisis suggested by political aide Toby (precise Toby Dantzic): "Have you considered a high-speed car chase through Paris?"

Yet having been made to feel scornful of so many of the characters, it's then hard for auds to feel sympathy as the same people drive the plot. Even Richard (Ben Righton, looking remarkably like Prince William) is portrayed as such a well-meaning dimwit it's hard to care about his choice. That naivety also flattens the role of his fiancee (Zahra Ahmadi).

There is, however, an enjoyable sheen to the acting in Ramin Gray and Max Stafford-Clark's typically detailed production. As high-drinking, mouthy Prince Arthur, Christian Brassington is not a million miles away from real-life Prince Harry, while Jeff Rawle is utterly convincing as a solid-seeming prime minister-in-waiting whose only policy is expediency.

The play ends with a knowing epilogue in rhymed verse. Witty though this is, it underlines the mildly diffuse nature of the play that precedes it.

Sets and costumes, Tim Shortall; lighting, Johanna Town; sound, Ian Dickinson; production stage manager, Gary Beestone. Opened March 5, 2007. Reviewed March 6. Running time: 2 HOURS, 20 MIN.