"Backstairs Billy" is "the best new play about the royals" since Peter Morgan's smash-hit "The Audience", said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. Packed with witty lines, it imagines the relationship between the late Queen Mother and William "Billy" Tallon, the flamboyant Clarence House steward (an "elevated Coventry commoner") who was her trusted right-hand man for many decades.
Marcelo Dos Santos's comedy has shades of both Noël Coward and Joe Orton, said Dominic Maxwell in The Sunday Times. He weaves together farcical shenanigans (in one sequence, Billy passes off a pick-up from the night before as a visiting African prince) with "nimble dialogue, a keen sense of absurdity and traces of tenderness too". The two leads – Penelope Wilton as the Queen Mother and Luke Evans as Billy – are superb. And it's very funny – it made me "laugh more than any other play this year".
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.
Stars reflect the overall quality of reviews and our own independent assessment (5 stars=don’t miss; 1 star=don’t bother)
Sign up to The Week's Arts & Life newsletter for reviews and recommendations.
-
Minnesota, Illinois sue to stop ICE ‘invasion’Speed Read Minnesota officials are also seeking a temporary restraining order
-
Is the Chinese embassy a national security risk?Today’s Big Question Keir Starmer set to approve London super-complex, despite objections from MPs and security experts
-
Why X faces UK ban over Grok deepfake nudesThe Explainer Ofcom is investigating whether Elon Musk’s AI chatbot breached Online Safety Act
-
Striking homes with indoor poolsFeature Featuring a Queen Anne mansion near Chicago and mid-century modern masterpiece in Washington
-
Film reviews: ‘No Other Choice,’ ‘Dead Man’s Wire,’ and ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’Feature A victim of downsizing turns murderous, an angry Indiana man takes a lender hostage, and a portrait of family by way of three awkward gatherings
-
Courgette and leek ijeh (Arabic frittata) recipeThe Week Recommends Soft leeks, tender courgette, and fragrant spices make a crisp frittata
-
Avatar: Fire and Ash – third instalment feels like ‘a relic of an earlier era’Talking Point Latest sequel in James Cameron’s passion project is even ‘more humourless’ than the last
-
The Zorg: meticulously researched book is likely to ‘become a classic’The Week Recommends Siddharth Kara’s harrowing account of the voyage that helped kick-start the anti-slavery movement
-
The Housemaid: an enjoyably ‘pulpy’ concoctionThe Week Recommends Formulaic psychological horror with Sydney Sweeney is ‘kind of a scream’
-
William Nicholson: a ‘rich and varied’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends The wide-ranging show brings together portraits, illustrations, prints and posters, alongside ‘ravishing’ still lifes
-
Oh, Mary! – an ‘irreverent, counter-historical’ delightThe Week Recommends Mason Alexander Park ‘gives the funniest performance in town’ as former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln
