Review: BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT, Richmond Theatre - Tour
Photo credit: Nobby Clark
Few public figures have been portrayed on stage as often as Queen Elizabeth II. From stately dramas to sharp satires, the late monarch has inspired a wide range of interpretations, each attempting to capture the gravitas, restraint and occasional vulnerability behind the crown.
Yet among this crowded gallery of performances, Anne Reid’s turn as the late Queen stands out as one of the most enjoyable. With wit, nuance and an unmistakable warmth, Reid humanises a woman renowned for almost never displaying emotion publicly.
By Royal Appointment hardly pushes the envelope with its sympathetic portrayal of an institution that reportedly costs the British taxpayer £510m a year and has found itself embroiled in scandal ad infinitum, but that unsavoury underbelly of the monarchy is not the story that Daisy Goodwin’s play sets out to tell.
Instead, the audience is treated to a series of vignettes, each depicting a key moment in British or Royal history - be it royal weddings or state funerals - and the consideration that went into what the Queen wore on each occasion. After all, for a figure whose main role was restraint, so much was projected (and interpreted by the media and public) by her outfit. The show itself is deftly premised as an ‘immersive’ collection following her death, pulled together by Grainne Dromgoole (the curator).
Caroline Quentin plays the Queen’s dresser Gigi, based on the monarch’s real-life dresser of several decades, Angela Kelly, to great effect. While the play itself shows the Queen as a maternal and kindly figure - no doubt, the personality that the public projected on to her - Gigi is a little more layered and not always so sympathetic to anyone other than her employer.
The company is completed by James Dreyfus as an Australian milliner and James Wilby, who plays the designer of so many iconic outfits. Goodwin’s play ticks along as a pleasant sitcom from a bygone era for the most part but occasionally stuns the audience into silence when touching upon societal issues of the day, such as the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
By Royal Appointment is a gentle depiction of the imagined relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and her staff, which serves as a vehicle for Reid to showcase her vast acting range. In less capable hands, the play itself may falter slightly but Reid is magnetic and subtle from start to finish, giving a performance that cannot be missed.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Tom Ambrose