Three Kings (NHB Modern Plays)

When Patrick is eight years old, his absent father returns unexpectedly for a brief but memorable encounter.

Years later - recalling that meeting, and the revelations that followed - Patrick traces the events of his father's life, laying bare a journey of grandiose plans, aching disappointments and audacious self-delusion.

Three Kings by Stephen Beresford is a heartbreaking and hilarious play for a solo actor about fathers and sons, the gifts and burdens of inheritance, and the unfathomable puzzle of human relationships.

It was written for Andrew Scott to perform as part of Old Vic: In Camera, a series of live performances streamed from The Old Vic, London, in 2020. This edition includes an introduction by the director Matthew Warchus.

Auteur

Stephen Beresford is a writer for stage and screen. He trained at RADA and his first play The Last of the Haussmans opened at the National Theatre, London, starring Julie Walters in 2012 to great critical and commercial success. His stage adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander was first performed at The Old Vic Theatre, London, in 2018.

His first screenplay was Pride (2014), directed by Matthew Warchus. It premiered at Cannes Film Festival where it closed Directors' Fortnight. The film won three British Independent Film Awards (including Best British Film) and was nominated in four further categories, received the South Bank Show Award for Best British Film, and was nominated for BAFTA Best British Film, Golden Globe Best Motion Picture and London Critic's Circle British Film of the Year. Stephen won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut.