''The Audience'' is a play by the British playwright and screenwriter

Peter Morgan Peter Julian Robin Morgan, (10 April 1963) is a British screenwriter and playwright. He is the playwright behind '' The Audience'' and '' Frost/Nixon'' and the screenwriter of ''The Queen'' (2006), '' Frost/Nixon'' (2008), ''The Damned United ...

. The play centres on weekly meetings, called audiences, between

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, originally played by

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

, and her

prime ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. It premiered in the West End in 2013, at the Gielgud Theatre. A

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production opened in 2015, also starring Mirren. A West End revival played in London in 2015 starring

Kristin Scott Thomas Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born 24 May 1960) is a British actress who also holds French citizenship. A five-time British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Award and Laurence Olivier Award, Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best ...

in the lead role.

Overview

''The Audience'' is centred on the weekly audiences given by

from her accession in 1952 to the present day. Three prime ministers are omitted from the play;

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conse ...

and

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

are not featured.

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

originally did not feature in the play, but was added when the play transferred to Broadway, replacing

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...

who was excluded from subsequent productions. Advice regarding the political and historical content of the weekly audiences was provided by Professor

Vernon Bogdanor Vernon Bernard Bogdanor (; born 16 July 1943) is a British political scientist and historian, research professor at the Institute for Contemporary British History at King's College London and professor of politics at the New College of the Hu ...

(Emeritus Professor of Government at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

), the former tutor of

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

, prime minister from 2010 until 2016.

Production history

''The Audience'' is written by British playwright and screenwriter Peter Morgan. Its premiere production opened in the West End at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 986 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague an ...

on 15 February 2013, with its press night on 5 March. The play featured

as Queen Elizabeth II; the actress had played the same role in the 2006 film ''

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

'', which was also written by Morgan. The play was directed by

Stephen Daldry Stephen David Daldry CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Olivier Awards for his work in the West End and three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway. He has received three ...

, with costume design by

Bob Crowley Bob Crowley (born 10 June 1952) is a theatre designer (scenic and costume), and theatre director. He lives between London, New York and West Cork in the south west of Ireland. Career Born in Cork, Ireland on 10 June 1952, Bob Crowley is the ...

, lighting design by Rick Fisher, sound by

Paul Arditti Paul Arditti is a British sound designer, working mainly in the UK and the US. He specialises in designing sound systems and sound scores for theatre. He has won awards for his work on both musicals and plays, including a Tony Award, an Olivier Aw ...

, music by

Paul Englishby Paul Englishby is a film and theatre composer, orchestrator, conductor and pianist. He is best known for his Emmy Award-winning jazz score for David Hare's ''Page Eight'', his orchestral score for the Oscar nominated ''An Education'', his BAFTA ...

and video design by Ian William Galloway. A typical West End performance ran two hours and 30 minutes, including one interval. Following the death of former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

, who is featured during the play's run, Morgan made a speech to the audience to mark her passing. Subsequently, a reference to the late prime minister's death and the Queen's attendance at her funeral was added as a part of the Queen's dialogue with David Cameron. The production was broadcast live to cinemas as part of

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I grew ...

on 13 June 2013. The initial broadcast broke the record for most people watching a production live since the scheme began, with nearly 80,000 people watching in the UK and 30,000 people in North America. Further encore screenings were later broadcast. The play began a limited

engagement from 8 March to 28 June 2015, at the

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, formerly the Plymouth Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 236 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was ...

, with previews from 14 February 2015. Helen Mirren reprised her role of Queen Elizabeth II in this production, alongside fellow original cast members

Geoffrey Beevers Geoffrey Beevers (born 15 January 1941) is a British actor who has appeared in many different stage and screen roles. Career Theatre Beevers has worked extensively at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond upon Thames, both as an actor (including ...

Michael Elwyn Michael Elwyn (born 23 August 1942) is a Welsh actor, notable for his work in film ('' Shadow Man''), stage ('' The Audience'', as Anthony Eden) and television ('' Stella''). Elwyn was born in Pontypridd. He is the partner of actress Alison Ste ...

Richard McCabe Richard McCabe (born William McCabe; 18 August 1960) is a Scottish actor who has specialised in classical theatre. He is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Career McCabe is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare ...

and

Rufus Wright Rufus Gerrard-Wright, known as Rufus Wright, is an English film, stage and television actor. Personal life Wright is the son of Major-General Richard Gerrard-Wright and his wife, Susan (née Young). He is the younger brother of Lance Gerrard-Wr ...

. A West End revival began at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, opening on 5 May 2015, following previews from 21 April 2015, with

Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

as Queen Elizabeth II. For the 2015 production, the role of James Callaghan was removed to allow them to feature former prime minister

, and the script was updated pending a general election. Following the election on 7 May 2015, the scene featuring

meeting the Queen was updated to show Cameron had won a second term and showed the Queen asking him to form a government. The audience between Cameron and the Queen was changed several times over the 15-week run in the West End to keep up to date with current political events. After the general election results, references were made to

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

and the success of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

winning seats from the Labour Party. Other current events references made during the audience scene between the Queen and Cameron included the corruption scandal at FIFA and the Greek bailout debate known as "

Grexit A Greek withdrawal from the eurozone was a hypothetical scenario, debated mostly in the early to mid 2010s, under which Greece would withdraw from the Eurozone to deal with the Greek government-debt crisis of the time. This conjecture was give ...

". During the last week of the run, a reference was made to newspaper articles displaying the Queen apparently making a Nazi salute in her youth and to the birthday of Prince George. In May 2017, the play received its Russian premiere in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and starred

Inna Churikova Inna Mikhailovna Churikova (russian: Инна Михайловна Чурикова; born 5 October 1943) is a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actress. Biography Churikova was born in Belebey, Bashkir ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. In t ...

as the Queen, along with

Mikhail Gorevoy Mikhail Vitalievich Gorevoy (russian: Михаи́л Вита́льевич Горево́й; born 19 May 1965) is a Russian actor, occasionally credited as Michael Gor in English language productions, best known internationally for playing Vlad ...

as Winston Churchill and Galina Tunina as Margaret Thatcher.

Fiona Reid Fiona Reid, CM (born 24 July 1951) is an English-born Canadian television, film, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles as Cathy on the TV series ''King of Kensington'' and Harriet Miller in the film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding''. E ...

assumed the role of the Queen in the 2017

Mirvish Productions Mirvish Productions is a Canadian based theatrical production company and promoter. The company was founded in 1987 by David Mirvish, son of Toronto retailing icon and owner of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Ed Mirvish. The first assets acquired ...

mounting of the play at

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

."Fiona Reid brings charm and humour to Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience: review"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', January 20, 2017. The Toronto cast included Paul Essiembre as Eden, Kate Hennig as Thatcher, Benedict Campbell as Brown, Kevin Klassen as Blair and

Ben Carlson Ben Carlson is a Canadian actor.

as Cameron.

In popular culture

The 'Traviata' model handbag by British designer Launer London received a surge in popularity and was subsequently re-issued by the brand following the use of one as a prop in ''The Audience'' both in the West End and on Broadway. It is the style often used by Queen Elizabeth II. Specific episodes of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''The Crown'', created by Peter Morgan, acknowledge inspiration from ''The Audience'', produced by Playful productions LLP, Robert Fox LTD and Andy Harries. The play is cited in the credits of the first, fifth and eighth episodes of season 1, the third and eighth episodes of season 2, the second and ninth episode of season 3, and the second, fifth, and tenth episode of season 4.

Principal roles and original cast

; Notes *

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

withdrew from the role of Churchill before press night in the original West End production for health reasons.

Awards and honours

Original West End Production

Original Broadway Production

References

External links