CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT
Fiona Reid brings charm to the role of Queen Elizabeth in The Audience,
The Audience
(out of 4) Written by Peter Morgan. Directed by Christopher Newton. Until Feb. 26 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W. mirvish.com or 416-872-1212
When Queen Elizabeth, the longestreigning monarch in British history, became too ill with a cold to attend Christmas mass this year, naturally concerns rose about her health at 90 years old.
It seems our culture is beginning to consider a world without the woman responsible for keeping the monarchy alive in the U.K. and the Commonwealth. And as The Audience points out, a “cold” can be a euphemism for a more serious illness.
The play was written in 2013 by Peter Morgan (also the writer and creator of The Crown on Netflix, Frost/Nixon and The Queen) as a brief history of the Queen’s reign told through her weekly “audiences” with sitting prime ministers, beginning with Winston Churchill in 1952.
Though it largely plays as a collection of mini-period pieces, Morgan adds more introspective elements, letting Elizabeth recount memories, speak to herself as a girl and, in director Christopher Newton’s production, let one disastrous moment in history echo in her mind. She’s jumping back and forth in time, matching the world’s reflective mood.
The result is not necessarily an indepth look at the Queen as a person. For example, the film The Queen revealed more about her personality. But it does reveal what Morgan imagines is her personal taste for the various PMs (spoiler: she’s fond of Harold Wilson, less so of Tony Blair).
The Audience examines the dynamics of those in power and how those institutions wrangle with each other.
It doesn’t make for thrilling dramatic action. The characters are almost always seated and speaking calmly. This is the decorum of such proceedings, laid out in detail by the Equerry (Anthony Bekenn) at the beginning of each act.
The formality can make for comic relief, as when Anthony Eden (Paul Essiembre), shaking with nerves about the Suez crisis, is served a glass of water on a silver platter. As Elizabeth, Fiona Reid — one of Canada’s funniest actors — is highly aware of her own comedic opportunities, sneaking jabs into polite small talk.
What the play lacks in action, Reid makes up for in charm, especially in Elizabeth’s later years. In audiences with David Cameron (Ben Carlson), Gordon Brown (Benedict Campbell) and Blair (Kevin Klassen), Reid’s physicality shows increasing stiffness as her prime ministers reflect the modernity of the times.
Her voice deepens and gets gravelly, which is more pleasing than the girlish pitch at her coronation. But the ease with which she switches age (and costume, with some onstage quick changes) is impressive.
The highlight of The Audience comes in the middle of her recollected timeline, in a confrontation with the only other female character: Margaret Thatcher, played briskly by Kate Hennig. That scene, in which the Queen shows the most visible tension with her political partner, marks a tipping point between tradition and modernity.
In Thatcher’s words, the time to “shed the straitjacket of our protocol” triggers a conflict between the Queen’s desire to uphold the monarchy and the agreement that the royals will inherently support the government’s wishes.
Christina Poddubiuk’s costumes help us keep track of the interweaving eras while providing some onstage eye candy. Her pillared audience room set is appropriately regal, with a stunning chandelier to rival The Phantom of the Opera’s, but doesn’t completely convey majesty.
It’s difficult to imagine what the world will look like without Elizabeth, but it seems we’ll have interpretations of her legacy for years to come.
For now, Torontonians are lucky to see her channelled through Reid, who has graciously offered a standing invitation to meet her in her chambers until late February.