Elizabeth Colton Walls

A Real Estate Agent since 2005

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Call Me At
Office: 615.327.4800
Direct: 615.804.3991

  • The Elizabeth Advantage
  • Buyers
  • Sellers
  • Blog

The Audience

June 22, 2015

The AudienceTHE AUDIENCE

I’d watch Helen Mirren read the phone book, so tickets  to Peter Morgan’s play The Audience in which Mirren reprises her Olivier- winning role as Queen Elizabeth II was a must get for me.

Despite New York Times critic Ben Brantley’s less than enthusiastic  review of the production as a, “history-skimming chat show,” I thought it was wonderful.

“The audience” refers to the monarch’s weekly meeting with her prime minister–twenty minutes usually on a Tuesday. The play imagines these private conversations between the Queen and her PMs over many decades.

In her long reign, the Queen has been through twelve PMs (some served more than once.) For the benefit of American audiences, the program includes cheat sheet– brief biographical information about each PM as well an “interesting fact.”

Mirren,  who played the monarch in the 2006 movie The Queen (screenplay also by Mr. Morgan), portrays Elizabeth as discreet, hardy, empathetic, and with a mild sense of humor. Labor PM Harold Wilson’s comment to the Queen,    “You understand ordinary people, working people,” is however probably stretching the just like us with better jewelry analogy.

The Audience mirrenWith the exception of Judith Ivey, who as Margaret Thatcher is burdened with a ridiculous wig, unflattering suit, and a wavering British accent, all the PMs are quite capable of keeping up with Mirren. Rich McCabe as folksy labor leader Harold Wilson is especially good.

If Elizabeth is really like Helen Mirren, (and who is to say otherwise,) the UK could do worse.

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint This Page

Related Posts

  • <i>The Churchill Sisters</i> by Rachel TretheweyThe Churchill Sisters by Rachel Trethewey
  • <i>Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret</i> by Craig BrownNinety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown
  • <i>The Crown in Crisis, Countdown to the Abdication</i> by Alexander LarmanThe Crown in Crisis, Countdown to the Abdication by Alexander Larman
  • <i>The Splendid and the Vile</i> by Erik Larson The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson 
  • <i>Hero of the Empire</i> by Candice MillardHero of the Empire by Candice Millard
  • <i>Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill</i> by Sonia PurnellClementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell

Filed Under: New York City Life, NYC Theater Tagged With: Helen Mirren, Peter Morgan, Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to My Blog

Subscribe to My Monthly Newsletter

Search Blog

Topics

  • Books & Reading
  • Books-Fiction
  • Books-Mystery & Suspense
  • Books-Non Fiction
  • Business Life
  • ECW Life
  • House Proud
  • Movies
  • Nashville Life
  • New York City Life
  • NYC Theater
  • Real Estate
  • Reflections & Rants
  • Television
  • Uncategorized

© Copyright 2013- Elizabeth Colton Walls. All rights reserved.

Elizabeth Colton Walls GRI,
3825 Bedford Avenue
Nashville, TN 37215
Office: 615.327.4800
Email: elizabeth@elizabethcoltonwalls.com