“Prince Faggot”: an imaginary future with a gay royal

“What If?” is a popular mental game to play. It can play with time past, in which one essential thing is changed, creating a different present. Or it can play with future time, speculating how things might be if one essential thing today is changed. In the latter camp is Prince Faggot, a new play by Jordan Tannahill, now playing at Playwrights Horizons in New York. Prince Faggot is a work of strong emotions that is not afraid to take difficult, logical steps down a road that leads to a less-than-rosy future.

Prince Faggot posits that Prince George — eldest son of William and Kate, grandson of Charles and Diana — is gay. At the start of the play, he is already out to his family. And he has fallen in love with Dev, an Anglo-Indian man, who George is bringing to dinner to meet the folks. William and Kate are gracious enough, welcoming Dev into their home, doing their best to make their visitor comfortable in their presence. George’s strong-willed sister Charlotte is there too, to offer George her support.

As time passes, Dev comes face to face with the million and one points of protocol and tradition inherent in being a part of the Royal Family — points that George never had to consider as they were part of his upbringing. George’s blithe indifference to Dev’s concerns begin to drive a wedge between them until their loving relationship breaks under the stress.  As they go their separate ways, can there be any chance they will reunite?

Prince Faggot is bookended by two extraordinary scenes where the cast members, as themselves, speak about their own experiences growing up queer. Childhood pictures showing the men in fey poses and the women as the boys they once were are coupled with their monologues. However, as playwright Tannahill states in the program notes, of the opening monologues only one is based on incidents from actor Mihir Kumar’s life, while the one closing monologue was inspired by an interview with actor N’yomi Allure Stewart during rehearsals. The remainder of the monologues, including parts of Kumar’s, were created by Tannahill and are fictitious, and “any resemblance to real events is purely coincidental.”

The cast, under the inspired direction of Shayok Misha Chowdhury, inhabit their sometimes-multiple characters perfectly. K. Todd Freeman and Rachel Crowl are the perfect royal couple as William, Prince of Wales, and his consort Kate, walking every parent’s fine line between wanting happiness for their children yet wondering if a child’s choice of life partner will ever be suitable or good enough. Mihir Kumar is a passionate lover combined with a strong-willed defender of his own political beliefs as Dev. N’yomi Allure Stewart is the clear-eyed, practical Princess Charlotte, knowing her place in the family is the same as her mother’s: to smile prettily, produce children, and know her place in the scheme of things.

David Greenspan spins comedic gold with his takes on two wildly different roles: the royal butler and confidante of both William and his son; and Jacqueline Davies, the bossy, brassy, savvy communications director “handling” this gay royal couple. As Prince George, John McCrea takes us through the emotional labyrinth of a maturing adult and future king from the ages of 18 to 31, trying to fit his life and his needs into the strictures of what is expected of a British royal. McCrea blends the various facets of George — privileged and slightly spoiled child, explorer into his own sexuality, starry-eyed lover, uncomprehending, demanding, and heartbroken partner, among others — into a living, messy portrait of a man in all his contradictory splendor.

Prince Faggot starts with the real-life kerfluffle about a picture of the four-year-old Prince George looking up as a helicopter flew overhead. Some in the UK commented on how fey and un-boy-like he looked. Some speculated on the prince’s sexuality — speculations that others said were “disgusting” and “an attempt at sexualizing” the young prince. And yet, the prince’s pose in that photo is reflected in the pictures of the cast members at about that age, looking just the same. Coincidence? An example of a “cuteness” phase young children go through? An early sign of future sexuality?

No one can say for sure, but Prince Faggot tackles the polarizing topic of the underlying societal pressures around sexual development and expression. It is a strong play, not without humor (and some “tastefully staged” sex scenes, the phrase used in my youth), yet taking a nuanced look at the topic through the lens of predictive fiction. It is a play worth seeing, and I cannot more strongly urge you to see it. Reach your own speculative conclusions once you have met Prince Faggot!

Prince Faggot is playing in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd St., in New York, through Aug. 3, 2025. For more information, or to purchase tickets, go to playwrightshorizons.org.