The other night I had the privilege of attending the Lieutenant Governor’s Office’s red carpet gala premiere screening of Helen Mirren’s The Audience, which had just premiered in London at the Gielgud Theatre, but was transmitted live via satellite to Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre. For those of you unfamiliar with Dame Mirren (and you should be ashamed of yourselves), she has portrayed both Queen Elizabeths; first in the television miniseries Elizabeth I, and more notably in 2006’s The Queen, a portrayal of Elizabeth II in the days after the death of Diana Princess of Wales (for which Dame Mirren received a Best Actress Oscar).
The night began with a red carpet cocktail reception in the lounge next to the theatre, followed by a small pre-show speech from his Honour David C. Onley, where groups such as The Monarchist League, The Churchill Society, and the Chinese Professional Association (among others) were acknowledged for their contributions to the event, which ultimately represent a diverse but effusive partnership between the Canadian Crown, the institution of parliamentary democracy, and the various drama and history collectives that help to form the vivacious and vibrant province of Ontario. The premiere marked the conclusion of the Lieutenant Governor’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, where his Honour joined fellow Ontarians for a live screening of the production’s premiere performance in London.
His Honour David C. Onley addressing the premiere’s guests
The performance itself was Helen Mirren at her best. Already in her element as (either) Elizabeth, and teaming up again with writer Peter Morgan (who has in the past won several prestigious awards for The Queen’s screenplay), Helen Mirren does what Helen Mirren does best: not simply being herself, but being simply The Queen- or as close as the global audience can come to imagining her:
For sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace – a meeting like no other in British public life – it is private. 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 Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister has used these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional – sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive.
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.
The Scotiabank Theatre
Rife with that dry British humour beloved of Monarchists and Republicans alike, the play (mostly set in a single room in Buckingham Palace), runs the gamut of the Queen’s twelve disciples- from the Suez Crisis up to quite literally the crisis of the day- the indeterminate sex of the Royal Baby. Richard McCabe’s “build me a Rhineland Schloss!” line as Harold Wilson is worth admission alone. McCabe’s character in particular delivers the laughs while simultaneously tugging at the heartstrings, reminding the audience that as her most beloved Prime Minister (within the bounds of this Royal confessional), the Queen is not as hard as Westminster’s Coronation Stone. And if there was any doubt as to Her Majesty’s humanity, a “Gangnam Style” ringtone going off in the Royal Handbag is sure to provoke the laughs that mask the reality of the Queen’s situation as both holder of and supreme servant to the Crown (“Sigh, Grandchildren. I told them I did not want the bloody thing [IPhone], but my security team assured me the thing would be useful as a tracking device- in case I try to escape.”)
The outstanding performance of Hadyn Gwynne as Margaret Thatcher draws the eerie parallels (and variations) between the private characters, public image, and, most ominously, the mortality of these two Iron Ladies (“born just six months apart!”). The discussion of the funeral of Baroness Thatcher and the recent illness of Prince Phillip with David Cameron (Rufus Wright), portents the tenuous future of both the monarchy and Britain itself in the twenty-first century, as one remembers that Her Majesty is not, in fact, made of iron, even if she is made of moral steel.
Her Majesty with Prime Ministers (from left to right) Thatcher, Wilson, and Churchill
(actors: Haydn Gwynne, Richard McCabe, Helen Mirren, and Edward Fox)