You walk into a theatre unsure what to expect; it is a dungy and dark room with seats cramped around the edge. You sit down and take in the surrounding as popular Cockney songs play faintly in the background.
All of a sudden, lights turn on and the room becomes a portal into one hour and 40 minutes of intimate, old-time theatre experience.
After her death in 2002, the Queen’s younger sister HRH The Princess Margaret seemed to have slowly faded into the pages of our history books until recently when the Netflix series ‘The Crown’ and Craig Brown’s best-selling book ‘Ma’am Darling’ has brought her enigmatic and controversial life back into the limelight. Now, Richard Stirling’s latest drawing-room drama ‘A Princess Undone’ at Park Theatre gives us a unique look at Princess Margaret’s story.
Set on an intricately furnished Kensington Palace apartment in August 1993, which was designed by Norman Coates, the show is a revealing play inspired by true events. After finding potentially dangerous letters related to several of the royal family, the princess is given another chance to be of service. But as unexpected guests arrive, it’s up to her to make or break the image of her family. Sitting literally a meter away from the action, it becomes difficult not to get immersed into this story.
“It's not easy being a princess.” Princess Margaret declares dramatically who is portrayed excellently through the conflicting characters of the princess by Felicity Dean. She gives a strong, central performance as a woman in her sixties who is magnificently regal but also arrogant and vulgar, determined to do the role justice. Pulling out amusing lines, she sips glass after glass of Jack Daniel and lights yet another fag. On top of all of this, she manages to express the more lonely, desperate side of Princess Margaret that is most touching because it reveals itself so rarely. Carrying a Cockney accent and plenty of snobbery, Dean is most definitely a major asset to the whole thing.
However, the brilliant acting is overshadowed by a flimsy plot along with a supporting cast of four: the borrowed butler William Tallon (played by Stirling himself), a ‘friend’ of Princess Margaret’s son and a surprise ex-admirer (Joe Binden) that seem to only be there to add context and cryptically peek at various backstories which the play seems tentative to explore. Of course, there are some fantastic sections from these characters such as the feisty argument between Princess Margaret and Joe Biden (played by Patrick Toomey): “If you were a man, I’d kill you” quickly retorted back with “If I were a man, I’d be King!”
Furthermore, the entertainment of the set and acting wears thin from the second half onwards, Jonny Kelly’s direction shows up its cracks as it begins to drift in plot and the one-room set becomes almost too familiar. Without much prior knowledge of the princess’ scandalous life, one can quickly become confused by the bombardment of names or eluding jokes while expecting a grand reveal of some sort but never getting one.
In the end, the show is “an opportunity for the young generation to enjoy the atmosphere of a joyful old theatre show” along with the wonderful characterisation of Princess Margaret. But personally, I think we would be better off watching a monologue from Dean. Oh, and a quick history lesson would help!
Running until March 17. More info about tickets can be found here: https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/a-princess-undone
