27 March – 9 May
Queen Victoria’s devotion to her husband, Prince Albert, is well attested in her diaries and public actions. Yet the diaries of a monarch will never tell the whole story. In her compelling new play, writer Daisy Goodwin, creator of the ITV series Victoria, has given an alternative view of the marriage, one in which the ever-capable Albert, frustrated by his secondary role, sought power in the domestic sphere, belittling and controlling his wife in ways that will be horribly resonant to a modern audience. The scenario presented is wholly convincing. Drawing on her extensive knowledge and understanding of the queen’s reign, Goodwin has created a witty and affecting drama that not only gives razor-sharp historical portraits of the principal actors, but also resonates beyond its immediate subject to touch on our wider perception of monarchy and family.
This public-private dichotomy is given brilliant visual expression in Alex Berry’s stage design which uses a slanting wall of mirrors to reflect a huge reproduction of an oil painting of the opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Inside a cleverly lit framing device and what looks like the crumpled shroud of history, this public image of the Victorian era alternates seamlessly with the rows of books, including the precious diaries, in Victoria’s private library. Against these twin backdrops, an intense domestic drama takes wing.
The cast of six is superb, not simply as individual performers, but in their vivid rendering of the cross-currents of relationships in this troubled family. Amanda Boxer gives a richly detailed portrayal of the aged queen, imperious, demanding, yet deeply human. Jessica Rhodes is her younger self, profoundly conscious of her duty and destiny, even as she is overwhelmed by her youthful love and desire for her husband. It is a finely nuanced performance with an extraordinary and engaging range of expression. When the two women meet, we experience the best of what theatre can do, the internal made visible, the confusion of memory reimagined as a tussle of dialogue between two selves.
Interpersonal chemistry is equally apparent in the young Victoria’s clashes with her husband. Rowan Polonski gives a striking, complex portrayal of the stern and gifted man who gave so much to his adopted country, but who – in Goodwin’s portrayal – needed to suck the life out of his wife so that he could thrive in his mission and play the marital role of his expectations.
Siblings Bertie (Stephen Fewell) and Beatrice (Lydia Bakelmun) play riveting games of cat and mouse with their maddening parent. In Beatrice we see a woman who does her best to stand up for herself, but whose life has been subsumed by her mother’s relentless demands. Stephen Fewell is perfect as the errant prince, an inveterate playboy, a king in waiting. And Steve Chusack is a strong foil to them all in the part of the devoted outsider, Dr Reid.
The director is Sophie Drake and while the acting is neither exaggerated nor caricatured, there is a sense that everyone here, as befits the royals, is slightly larger than life.
There are some great comic and heart-rending moments, as when the young queen turns in fury on her husband for his weirdness in giving her a brooch made of her children’s milk teeth. Or when she remembers the death in childbirth of her cousin Charlotte and begs him not to force her into another pregnancy.
You don’t need to be a royalist to enjoy this fascinating play. As in the best historical fiction, every imagined event is plausible, making us think again about the past and its ramifications on the present. As in the best theatre, there is even a final unexpected twist.
★★★★★ Ros Carne 1st April 2026
Photography credits: Pamela Raith, Ben Jacobs
