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What's it all about?

Dame Helen Mirren makes a stunning return to the West End as Queen Elizabeth II in a brilliant new play by Peter Morgan, directed by Billy Elliot's Stephen Daldry. This trio of incredible talents is nothing less than theatrical royalty, and The Audience is the London theatre event of the year.

Dame Helen previously played the British sovereign in Stephen Frears’ film The Queen, also written by Morgan. That extraordinary performance won her a Best Actress Oscar, but fear of typecasting initially led her to turn down the chance to reprise the role in The Audience.

Fortunately, Dame Helen’s respect for the play’s profoundly talented creative team and the quality of the work itself led her to reconsider. With a fascinating concept and artistic heavy-hitters bringing their ‘A’ game to every level of the production, The Audience is utterly compelling.

What's the story?

While Stephen Frears’ elegant film The Queen focused on the life of Elizabeth II during the period surrounding the death of Princess Diana, The Audience takes in the whole of the Queen’s reign, from her ascendancy to the throne aged 25 to the present day.

During the last sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said - not even to their spouses.

The Audience breaks this contract of silence and imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Prime Ministers, from Churchill to Cameron, and the Queen. Sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive, the Queen in turn can’t help but reveal her true self as she advises, consoles and, on occasion, teases.

From young mother to grandmother these private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age. Politicians come and go through the revolving door of electoral politics, while she remains constant, waiting to welcome her next Prime Minister.

Who's in it?

Helen Mirren has been one of the leading lights of the British and international stage since the 1960s and a major movie star, with screen credits including The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover, The Long Good Friday, The Madness Of King George, The Mosquito Coast and, of course, The Queen.

In recent years her London theatre appearances have included Orpheus Descending at the Donmar Warehouse, Mourning Becomes Electra on the Lyttelton Stage at the National Theatre and Phedre, also at the National.

Edward Fox plays Winston Churchill. His theatre credits include Knuckle and The Old Masters at the Comedy Theatre, The Family Reunion at the Vaudeville Theatre, and Four Quartets at the Riverside Studios. His TV and film credits include Edward & Mrs Simpson, Oh! What a Lovely War, Battle of Britain and The Go Between.

Haydn Gwynne plays Margaret Thatcher. She was Mrs Wilkinson in the original West End cast of Billy Elliot, and won Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Musical when it transferred to Broadway. Recently she starred in the UK tour of Duet for One.

Paul Ritter plays John Major. His NT credits include The Hothouse, Howard Katz and Coram Boy and he has appeared in Troilus and Cressida and The White Devil with the RSC. He can currently be seen in Channel 4’s Friday Night Dinner. 

Who is The Audience suitable for?

Helen Mirren is one of the best and most respected British actresses of her generation. Anything she's in is recommended viewing for anyone who appreciates watching a true mistress of her craft at work.

Morgan's writing is intelligent and literate but always gripping and accessible, and Daldry is similarly attuned to making substantial material approachable for a wide audience. As such, The Audience is deemed suitable for all subjects of the realm, bar none.

Why book with us?

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