Peter Morgan’s new play The Audience is giving us a glimpse into the secret meetings between the Queen and her Prime Ministers during her illustrious reign, but thanks to photographer Johan Persson, we’ve been given a glimpse into the secret rehearsals of the play about the secret meetings between, well, you see where I’m going.
Dame Helen Mirren, seen teacup in hand in Persson’s picture, plays Her Majesty The Queen in the Stephen Daldry-directed production that opens at the Gielgud theatre next month. Her impressive supporting cast of governmental heavyweights includes Haydn Gwynne, who previously worked with Daldry on Billy Elliot The Musical, pictured gazing over her newspaper as Margaret Thatcher, a dour-looking Nathaniel Parker as Gordon Brown and an amused Paul Ritter as John Major.
Speaking to Baz Bamigboye in today’s Daily Mail, Mirren said of Morgan’s play: “It’s about what power means and how people handle it.”