Words by Melissa Blease
Theatre Royal Bath until 14 June
Modern theatre doesn’t always need to blaze a trail, challenge audiences and/or shake us up in order to create impact. In skilfully avoiding the whole trailblazing/challenging/shake-up thing, acclaimed English novelist, TV producer and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin’s debut stage play — enjoying its world premiere here in Bath — proves that point in fine, regal style.
Set in the inner sanctum of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Buckingham Palace suite, By Royal Appointment offers an intimate insight into the late Queen’s life outside of the public gaze, opening her wardrobe (literally!) to the whens, whys and wherefores of the outfits she wore for various occasions from the 1960s until her death in 2022 and turning the spotlight on the close relationship forged between her and her dresser: a largely invisible force to be reckoned with, and possibly the most influential courtier of the late Queen’s court.
Just as The Queen’s actual long-term dress designer Hardy Amies isn’t actually called Hardy Amies here and her milliner isn’t called Freddie Fox either (they’re simply billed as The Designer and The Milliner respectively), the Queen’s Dresser is simply billed as just that too. But many of know who she is: Liverpool-born Angela Kelly (official title: Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen, Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe) who, for almost 30 years, oversaw every detail of everything The Queen wore and, in the Queen’s latter years, rustled up those creations herself.
Punctuating a narrative relayed through a series of vignettes that whistle-stop us from the 1960s to The Queen’s final engagement welcoming the then Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss to her Balmoral estate (and no, she didn’t wear cabbage yellow), Gráinne Dromgoole — as the curator of a forthcoming multi-media exhibition of the Queen’s clothes that we learn will be produced “ABBA Voyage style”, doubling-up as the play’s narrator — gives context to the relevance of the Queen’s wardrobe choices in the spotlight here.
Who was in power when she dazzled in daffodil yellow for the very first time? Which Wham! single topped the charts when she rocked the bubblegum pink coat? How much had the price of milk risen to in the UK when she wore orange silk chiffon for a state visit to Bahrain? And could she ever upstage her infamous sister-in-law Mrs Simpson? Oh, you betcha!
We learn that none of the wardrobe choices Her Madge made were random, nor — perish the thought! — selected to make fashion statements; moreover, maximum visibility (to cameras; to crowds), comfort and tradition were always, always key, from style of hat to choice of footwear with length of hem falling in between the two… and, of course, always including that all-important handbag.
The gentle drama (although, it has to be said, there isn’t much ‘drama’ here; Goodwin’s smooth-flowing, gorgeously naturalistic script is more Alan Bennett’s Uncommon Reader than Peter Morgan’s Crown) moves along at a restrained pace with only discreet projections of the selected outfits featured fleetingly intruding on designer Jonathan Fensom’s simple, unadorned reconstruction of the calm sanctity of one of the most private enclaves within Buckingham Palace.
Without attempting an outright impersonation of the world’s most recognisable monarch to date, Anne Reid (yes, the Anne Reid – theatre royalty herself) is a wonderful Queen, channelling as much as we’ll ever know about Ma’am’s countenance and character into a smooth aggregation of her most familiar characteristics: serene and inscrutable, stoic under pressure, logical, knowing and subtly witty.
Frank, feisty, fiercely protective of her boss and initially reluctant to hand over her meticulously detailed records of every outfit The Queen ever wore under her watchful eye, Caroline Quentin wins our hearts and minds as the monarch’s long-term Dresser, companion, confidante and anchor.
As The Designer and The Milliner respectively, James Wilby and James Dreyfus bounce off each other as they waltz through and around power struggles and petty jealousies, ricocheting high camp snarks at quickfire speed but ultimately guiding each other through the complicated maze of the etiquette and conventions that dictate to the protocol of their roles with as much flamboyant chutzpah as they’re allowed to muster; read between their lines, and you’ll learn more about Queen Elizabeth II than Netflix ever told you.
Poignant, thoughtful and elegantly clever, By Royal Appointment gently builds up to being a memorable, moving work of modern theatre art, charming in a totally uncondescending way… and refreshingly free of any attempts to trailblaze, challenge or shake us up. This is an appointment that you really need to keep.
Photo credit: Nobby Clark