Queen Anne

london premiere

Romola Garai and Emma Cunliffe star in this West End transfer of Helen Edmundson's enthralling play charting the decline of a once tight friendship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill after political differences and envy tear them asunder, turning the once best pals into estranged foes, each out to have the last word.

First appearing at the Swan Theatre in Stratford in 2015, this RSC production was met with much acclaim. Emma Cunliffe will reprise her role as Anne, opposite Garai as the scheming Sarah Churchill.

friends to foes

Based on the true story of Anne and Sarah's fall out, Queen Anne explores the early days of Anne's reign, when her advisers are vieing for the most influence over the young Royal. Chief among them was Sarah Churchill, otherwise known as the Duchess of Marlborough, whose own ambitions of power keep her close to Anne. But Anne grows uneasy under Sarah's pressure and finds herself feeling more sympathetic to the burgeoning Tory party, in the face of Sarah's devotion to the Whigs.

As the friendship falls apart, a trail of deceit and blackmail, envy and vengeance, drags their dirty laundry out in public, as the reeling former bosom friends attempt to make sense of the other's perceived betrayal.

Did you know

Churchill's displeasure with the Queen continued into her own memoirs, where she 'unruly disparaged' the monarch with a scathing portrait that went on to influence historians view of Anne for many years!