The Crown Jewels (West End) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (119)
See it if you like panto, standup comedy, Al Murray, Carrie Hope Fletcher (her voice is delightful) or light entertainment. It’s short and funny.
Don't see it if you want to take kids. It’s a bit raunchy in places.
See it if you want to have a good time at the theater. This is a funny show, elevated by a hilarious performance by Al Murray.
Don't see it if you want a more serious show. Some of the humor is quite silly and not every joke lands... but most of them do.
See it if You don't mind a daft play. This was very funny
Don't see it if You want something more serious and don't like crude humour
See it if If you don't take yourself too seriously, and if you want to have an old good laugh! Clever staging and very funny!
Don't see it if If you are not a fan of stand-up comedy and you are not comfortable with adult jokes.
See it if you enjoy, double entendre, panto’ish’ Decent true’ish’ historical story. Cast played their parts fabulously. Bold, saucy, fun.
Don't see it if restoration comedy/Carry On films aren’t your preferred choice of viewing.
See it if You want a fun night at theatre! Fun show but at times was slow with audience interaction.
Don't see it if You want to see something meaningful. Show looked a bit amateur
See it if You want to laugh, not take life too seriously and see some incredible comic acting with amazing vocals (as always) from Carrie
Don't see it if You want a genuine historic experience, serious drama, no comedy, get easily offended
See it if Want something light and entertaining
Don't see it if Like serious shows
Critic Reviews (13)
“Murray and Giedroyc’s performances are funny because they are funny people. But those performances are not in service to any wider purpose, because there isn’t one here.”
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“Murray’s King Charles is a tyrant and a sleazeball, pointing to women in the audience and ordering his footmen to bring them to his room. Other characters seem as priapically preoccupied, but Nye’s sexed-up script brings a welter of beached innuendoes.”
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"That it works as well as it does at times is no mean feat, but, lacking a strong raison d’etre besides giving us a nibble of history and a few baubles of mirth, this interloper’s reign looks set to be short-lived and immemorable."
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“What a mess. The stately music of Purcell pours from speakers before the curtain rises but decorum goes out of the window once Simon Nye’s woeful attempt at rekindling the spirit of Restoration comedy starts.”
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“It feels closer to panto or sitcom. However the pacing is far too sluggish, and the overreliance on knob gags gets tiresome. It’s also hard to figure out the tone: It’s generally quite cartoonish, but with sudden dashes of sex and violence.”
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“ ‘The Crown Jewels’ is a frustrating show to watch. In theory, they have all the elements needed to create a winning piece of theatre...It’s worth it if only to see such stunning talent in surprising roles. ‘The Crown Jewels’ might not have successfully stolen my heart but it isn’t the worst crime to hit a West End stage in recent years.”
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“Nye is attempting, it seems, to write a Restoration comedy, its language and humour accurate to the time. But Foley directs it like a contemporary farce. The two approaches are worlds apart, and the humour gets lost in the middle.”
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“Comedy is hard to get right and it’s also wildly subjective... I always try to lean into a show, find the humour and gloss over the jokes that fall flat. But such generosity is hard to extend to a production that only succeeds when the story is left behind and the stage turns into a platform for proven West End performers to strut their stuff.”
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