Helen Mirren will soon reprise the role that made her an Oscar winner, that of Queen Elizabeth II, on Broadway.
Here’s the twist: Mirren won’t be starring in a stage adaptation of The Queen, the vehicle that led to an Academy Award trophy, but in a completely different play, The Audience — which, confusingly, is penned by Peter Morgan, who also wrote The Queen.
Mirren will play QEII opposite a dozen prime ministers.
Here’s the play’s official description:
For sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said, not even to their spouses.
The Audience imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister uses these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional — sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive. In turn, the Queen can’t help but reveal her own self as she advises, consoles, and, on occasion, teases. These private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age, from the beginning of Elizabeth II’s reign to today. Politicians come and go through the revolving door of electoral politics, while she remains constant, waiting to welcome her next Prime Minister.
Previews for The Audience will start on February 17. Its official run will be March 8 to June 28, 2015.