There is nothing more reliable in theatre than a royal. From the pomp and ceremony to the behind- the-scenes plotting, there is plenty to be mined from these larger than life figures.
Queen Elizabeth II may not be on the same level as, say, Henry V or Hamlet, but after more than 60 years on the throne, there is plenty of dramatic material waiting to be mined.
Peter Morgan's The Audience, making its New Zealand debut via the Auckland Theatre Company, has chosen a unique lens to examine her reign. Using the weekly meetings the Queen has had with her various Prime Ministers as a backdrop, Morgan explores more than half a century of British and global politics, questioning the stability and motivations of those in power all through the eyes of a woman with little choice in the matter.
Theresa Healey plays the Queen and, as the loosely connected plot bounds between decades and Prime Ministers, Healey's sparkling performance is the one thing holding it together. She is seamless in her transformation between young and old, inexperience and wisdom.
Morgan has written the Queen as a matronly figure restrained by convention, restricted to doling out advice and swallowing dead rats. Healey finds a sweet balance between protocol and patriot, serene when needed and fiery when pushed.