I booked for Queen Anne many months before this brand new play opened, so this is always taking a risk. But I was encouraged by the casting of Natascha McElhone and Johdi May in the main roles. And then Ms May pulls out a short while ago citing "creative differences". She is replaced by Emma Cunniffe as the Queen and she delivers a career enhancing performance, by far the best actor on the stage.
The play itself is ambitious as it portrays the politics of the first few years of the eighteenth century. It takes a while to sort out who is who and what they mean to the action. I felt the production was a little uneven, it misfires in places but in others it is absolutely riveting. I guess it would be hard to sustain that level through a two and half hour play.
I had understood that the heart of the play was the relationship between Princess, then Queen Anne and her friend Sarah Churchill. But a lot of that seemed to be played without the two of them together. When they do take centre stage, the political ambitions of Sarah seem to prevent any emotional bond between the two. Any of that coming only from the Queen, unreciprocated by Sarah. That was a shame. Natascha McElhone is a slight disappointment as Sarah in her first time role for the RSC. Maybe the matinee didnt suit her, or she was missing Johdi May. At times Sarah's fiery temper showed her expertise and she certainly dominates the stage.
The harsh satire following the lapse of the Licensing Act in 1695 is portrayed dynamically on occasion by a drunken gang that includes Jonathon Swift and Daniel Defoe. Interesting but not that enjoyable.
In fact I'm not sure if debut director Natalie Abrahami was up to the job. She somehow seemed just to have the lines spoken by numbers. There were, as always, some great cameos. I liked Robert Cavanah as John Churchill and newcomer Beth Park as Abigail Hill. But the time flew by which is always a good sign and I learnt a lot about the political shenanigans which dominated the court.
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