27 March – 9 May
“Diaries survive while feelings slip away. They are the skeleton on which posterity puts flesh.”
Osborne House 1901. As Victoria faces the final days of her reign, she clings to her diaries, the carefully kept record of a life defined by love, duty and profound loss. Into this certainty comes her younger self, forcing the older Victoria to confront memories she’s chosen to bury and truths she’s decided to forget.
Victoria and Albert are celebrated as one of history’s great love stories. Victoria had nine children with Albert, and after his premature death at 42, she spent the rest of her life mourning her ‘dearest angel’. At least that is the story told in her diaries. But does writing something make it true? Looking back at a young queen, this new play tells the story of a woman pregnant for most of her 20s and 30s, gradually surrendering her strength and authority to her controlling husband, and growing increasingly lonely in her crumbling marriage.
A world premiere, from Daisy Goodwin, the creator of the novel and ITV drama, Victoria, this new play offers a fresh perspective on one of history’s greatest monarchs.
The cast for Victoria: A Queen Unbound will feature Lydia Bakelmun (Swallow the Lake, Mercury Theatre; Antigone, Regents Park Open Air Theatre) as “Beatrice”, Amanda Boxer (To Kill A Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre; Strange Snow, Theatre Technis – Winner of Best Actress, London Fringe Awards) as “Victoria”, and Steve Chusak (2:22 A Ghost Story, West End; Miss Julie, Singapore Repertory Theatre) as “Dr Reid”. They are joined by Stephen Fewell(Doctor Young, National Theatre; Anne Boleyn, Netflix) as “Bertie”, Rowan Polonski (The Witcher, Netflix; The Comedy of Errors, RSC/Barbican Theatre) as “Albert”, and Jessica Rhodes (Stranger Things: The First Shadow, West End; The Tempest, RSC) as “Young Victoria”.
They join the creative team, which includes writer Daisy Goodwin, the WGGB-award-nominated screenwriter, BAFTA-award-nominated television producer and best-selling novelist. Returning to the Watermill after their work on Charley’s Auntwill be director Sophie Drake, set and costume designer Alex Berry, and lighting designer Ben Jacobs. Asaf Zohar is sound designer and composer, Asha Jennings-Grant is movement and intimacy director, and Elspeth Morrison is dialect coach. Casting is by Cydney Beech with Matthew Dewsbury as casting adviser.
Duration. 2 hours
Box office
Photography credits: Pamela Raith, Ben Jacobs
This listing appears on our front page until 11:55pm on Monday April 27th, 2026
