Chamber Pot
mid 20th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This chamber pot was a property used in Alan Bennett's play The Madness of King George which was directed by Nicholas Hytner and opened at the National Theatre in the Lyttleton Theatre, 28 November 1991. The play, subsequently made as the 1994 film The Madness of King George, concerned the period from 1788 until the end of the King's reign and dealt with the increasing mental instability of the British monarch George III (1738-1820) which is now considered to have been a result of the genetic blood disease porphyria. The disease was also suffered by Mary Queen of Scots, and her son King James I of England.
Alan Bennett's play took a wryly humorous look at the way the King was treated by his heir, the Prince of Wales, who wanted to have him declared insane so that he could take the throne, and the mostly incompetent physicians who attended him. One insists that blistering the skin is the only way to extract the bad humours that cause the madness; another constantly takes the King's pulse; a third advocates examining the royal chamberpots, the stool being 'more eloquent than the pulse,' hence the chamber pot prop.
Alan Bennett's play took a wryly humorous look at the way the King was treated by his heir, the Prince of Wales, who wanted to have him declared insane so that he could take the throne, and the mostly incompetent physicians who attended him. One insists that blistering the skin is the only way to extract the bad humours that cause the madness; another constantly takes the King's pulse; a third advocates examining the royal chamberpots, the stool being 'more eloquent than the pulse,' hence the chamber pot prop.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Frosted glass |
| Brief description | Chamber pot used in the original production of Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III, National Theatre, Lyttleton, 28 November 1991. |
| Physical description | Frosted glass chamber pot with bowed sides, curved rim and large handle. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This was the chamber pot used in Alan Bennett's play The Madness of King George at the National Theatre by Alan Bennett, directed by Nicholas Hytner, Lyttleton Theatre 28 November 1991. |
| Association | |
| Summary | This chamber pot was a property used in Alan Bennett's play The Madness of King George which was directed by Nicholas Hytner and opened at the National Theatre in the Lyttleton Theatre, 28 November 1991. The play, subsequently made as the 1994 film The Madness of King George, concerned the period from 1788 until the end of the King's reign and dealt with the increasing mental instability of the British monarch George III (1738-1820) which is now considered to have been a result of the genetic blood disease porphyria. The disease was also suffered by Mary Queen of Scots, and her son King James I of England. Alan Bennett's play took a wryly humorous look at the way the King was treated by his heir, the Prince of Wales, who wanted to have him declared insane so that he could take the throne, and the mostly incompetent physicians who attended him. One insists that blistering the skin is the only way to extract the bad humours that cause the madness; another constantly takes the King's pulse; a third advocates examining the royal chamberpots, the stool being 'more eloquent than the pulse,' hence the chamber pot prop. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.755-1997 |
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| Record created | January 14, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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