The Audience: Kristin Scott Thomas a timely Queen
'Icily regal' Scott Thomas replaces Helen Mirren as the Queen, while Miliband waits in the wings
An updated version of The Audience has opened in the Apollo Theatre in the West End, with Kristin Scott Thomas starring as the Queen. Peter Morgan's play debuted two years ago and is currently a hit on Broadway with its original star, Helen Mirren, who has just been nominated for a Tony award.
The play imagines the secret discussions between the Queen and a succession of prime ministers from Churchill to Cameron during weekly private audiences over the past 60 years. Stephen Daldry's revival includes a partial rewrite to factor in the imminent general election and, perhaps, a new prime minister.
Yet the timing was entirely coincidental, reports Holly Davis in The Independent, as the play was scheduled to suit Scott Thomas's commitments.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The actress is certainly regal, says Davis, cutting an "elegant, refined" figure with her "chin lifted and nose looked down." She may not be the most natural fit for the Queen – she is "glamorous in a way even twinsuits over fatsuits for the later years can't hide" – but her slicing comic subtlety, says Davis, "is a treat".
Dominic Maxwell in The Times agrees. "It takes right-royal nerve to replace Helen Mirren in one of her most celebrated roles," says Maxwell, "yet Kristin Scott Thomas pulls it off." Scott Thomas, says Maxwell, "proves every bit as fascinating as the Queen in this top-notch revival".
Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail isn't so sure. He claims he was almost banned from attending the press night, possibly because of an earlier, negative article he wrote about Scott Thomas's acting. She is, he says, "no Helen Mirren".
The Audience is such a great play that it's hard to imagine any Queen bombing entirely, admits Letts. But Scott Thomas "can sound sneery" and "does not command the stage".
Michael Billington in The Guardian has doubts about the play itself, calling it "a series of sketches". Billington says The Audience has less to say about the monarchy than Mike Bartlett's King Charles III, and accuses it of having "a disdain for elected politicians that I, for one, cannot share".
But Dominic Cavendish in the Daily Telegraph is having none of it. He calls Morgan's play "enthralling and royally entertaining", and says an "icily regal" Scott Thomas "easily holds her own against the gilded memory of Helen Mirren".
It's also incredibly topical, says Cavendish. The play will be rewritten to reflect the outcome of tomorrow's vote, and there's even an actor waiting to play Miliband, in case a new name is added to the prime ministerial roll-call.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Perfect Couple: glossy Netflix murder-mystery starring Nicole Kidman
The Week Recommends However hard you try to resist it, 'you will want to know the who, what, where and why-dunit'
By The Week UK Published
-
Why more and more people believe in aliens
In The Spotlight Growing numbers say they have seen a UFO – and even US politicians are getting caught up in the trend
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
'A show of unity in a contentious campaign'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Thursday Murder Club: who's in the film and what we can expect
Speed Read Author Richard Osman reveals starry cast set to play his 'septuagenarian sleuths'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Huw Edwards: from Bridgend to BBC presenter
Why Everyone’s Talking About Presenter is in hospital after he was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour with a young person
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Last updated
-
How advent of King Charles will affect coins, stamps and etiquette
feature Many everyday items and traditions will be different under the new monarch
By The Week Staff Published
-
What's next for King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, and Britain after the death of Queen Elizabeth II
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Accession – a genuinely ‘breathtaking display’
The Week Recommends Royal Collection Trust show features ‘some of the most enduring’ images of the monarch
By The Week Staff Published
-
Harry and Meghan ‘won’t reunite’ with William and Kate on UK trip
Speed Read Reports suggest rift between the Sussexes and the Cambridges has not been healed
By The Week Staff Published
-
Queen Elizabeth has tea with Paddington Bear in video shown at Jubilee concert
Speed Read
By Grayson Quay Published
-
Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts film review – an elegant tribute to the Queen
The Week Recommends Directed by the late Roger Michell, this documentary is ‘insightful, mischievous and assembled with panache’
By The Week Staff Published