Great songs and a wonderful cast in The King and I

By Kate O’Hearn
Published 24th Oct 2019, 14:02 BST
Anna and the royal children. Picture courtesy of Rebecca Brooker PhotographyAnna and the royal children. Picture courtesy of Rebecca Brooker Photography
Anna and the royal children. Picture courtesy of Rebecca Brooker Photography
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s multi-award-winning The King and I is coming to Hastings’ White Rock Theatre, presented by the Hastleons.

When I first heard their plans to produce the show, I was worried.

Many years ago I had the pleasure of watching Yul Brynner play King Mongkut on his final tour before his death.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Brynner was the ultimate King of Siam, always was, always would be. So I didn’t think any other production could compare. Especially when presented by an amateur dramatics society.

Rebecca Brooker PhotographyRebecca Brooker Photography
Rebecca Brooker Photography

I needn’t have worried though. All the drama, passion and cultural diversity is in this production.

Is there anyone who doesn’t know the story of Anna and the King? Of the beautiful and unspoken love between two people from different cultures for whom fate had only a briefest time to grant them.

But it is not only the King of Siam and the British school teacher, Anna, who suffer from forbidden love. There is also the tragic tale of Tuptim – a young bride, gifted to the King, and Lun Tha, her beloved. For these young lovers, they have only a few stolen moments as they risk everything to stay together.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The King and I is more than just a love story. It is a meeting of worlds, old and new, where cultures clash yet find peace in understanding. Of politics and modernisation in the ancient world.