Review: A Princess Undone – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

Published on: 11 Nov, 2016
Updated on: 11 Nov, 2016

Stephanie Beacham as Princess Margaret

By Ferenc Hepp

Having gone back in time over the past few shows, this week at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre we find ourselves back in the early 1990s with A Princess Undone, written by Richard Stirling and produced by Evergreen Theatrical Productions.

It is the August of 1993 and all the action takes place in Apartment 1a, Kensington Palace, where Princess Margaret (the Queen’s sister) resides, in the year when Buckingham Palace first opened its doors to the public and Diana retired from public life, following her seperation from the Prince of Wales.

“It’s not easy being a princess,” is the opening line, a line embroidered on the cushion that Princess Margaret held for a newspaper photograph, and the author’s inspiration to write the play.

Stephanie Beacham is the perfect choice to play this complex character as we see a great variety of emotions and facial expressions through the piece brought masterfully to the stage by this evergreen film and theatre actress.

Her dress is simple but elegant with the pearls, rather reminiscent of her sister. However, that is where the similarity ends. She comes across as a rather bitter, sarcastic character, envious of other members of her family.

Diana is mentioned several times, not in a heart-warming way, and we get a feeling that Margaret is jealous of her popularity and scared of her, describing herself as "red raw steak surrounded by vegans".

Private correspondence had been collected from the Queen Mother’s apartment while the family was away at Balmoral and the question is what to do with it all. Does it all get thrown into the fire or are there letters and photos that come to light which should be saved?

Other characters which play a major part in the plot are The Queen Mother’s butler, William Tallon (Gary Webster) and the former gangster and actor, John Bindon (Jason Merrells).

Webster plays a rather camp, interfering butler, who seems to have a very non-professional relationship with Margaret, which is rather difficult to believe with royal protocol nowadays.

Whether this relationship between them was true to life or not, I felt that this character and the way he was brought to life by Webster was more annoying than interesting and entertaining.

Merrells enters at the very end of Act One and takes centre stage throughout Act Two. He brings about a number of dramatic revelations and despite his cockney gangster character, totally the opposite to anything we might expect from anyone involved with the Royal Family, I found Merrell much more believable and real than Webster.

There is also a cameo appearance from Harry Livingstone as Matthew Bates, a friend of Viscount Linley, who appears uninvited but is soon forgiven and gets involved in a wonderfully funny moment having to dance the twist with Her Royal Highness.

This piece makes some interesting points and brings a different perspective and insight into a not very well known member of the Royal Family and some of her associates.

Does it have lots of dramatic tension and a clear story line with a climax? No. However, the admission price is worth it to see Beacham engrossed with the character she plays. i wondered whether this may work better as a one act, one-woman show.

A Princess Undone runs until Saturday 12 November and tickets are available via the website: www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk or by calling the box office on 01483 440000.