The People’s Princess returns from the dead in this unauthorized, unrealistic and unbelievably camp depiction exploring all the famous (and also unknown) events that defined her iconic life. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know if this drag queen act on monarchical affairs was actually right royal.
“Serves me right for marrying a Scorpio”. Yes, you’ve read right. Just when we thought that the accident was over (no pun intended), we get to hear those lines of wisdom (about how you should NEVER right lyrics or a musical) back onstage. There’s good news about them, though. And that’s that we’re not talking about the show. To some extent, not even the same story. We could actually say that Lady Di had as many sides and subplots in her life (or the one we’ve told about here) as interests in her charitable work. In other words, she was quite… camill-eonic. Too far?
Now seriously. No, sorry. I just can’t. There’s nothing serious to take about a piece that advertises itself as “very stupid”. The highlight of it is that this is probably the most honest advertising I’ve seen in a long time. It’s really dumb. It’s bollocks. It’s bonkers. And that’s what makes it fun to watch. Open your commoners’ hearts and your tunnel of love (now that I think of it, that last wordplay could be interpreted in more than one way…) to Diana, The Untold and Untrue Story, an exorcism of rough feelings and broken dreams from the woman that will always be fondly remembered (except for those putting their Bowles into an uproar) as the People’s Princess.
Bringing her up from the grave (although, as it will be revealed -spoiler alert!- she was never gone in the first place), the show take us through every stage of her a-dddddorable existence, in a revised version of all the famous events we grew acquainted to. Performed by quite a proficient cast featuring Lady Not Di-e, her sidekick and an incredibly large set of unpaid actors coming (that too, genuinely) from the audience, the montage does have quite a few amusing bits – going from camp to campier through salacious jokes and slapstick comedy. Nothing high-brow, nothing aiming for wit. But then again, she said she was no intellect, so better to go for the discotheque (I’m only starting…).
Written, directed and interpreted by Linus Karp in the main role, his rendition as Diana is fairly remarkable. He does sound like her, he does have the looks to even full you on Grindr (trust me, that’s a thing) and he manages to put a smile on your face (and more than once, trigger some loud laughs) through his absurd, fictional reference-driven portrayal. However, the show could still benefit from tweaks before the creatives can hold their baby (or son) and say ‘jolly well done’. Though entertaining, some editing feels necessary at several points, with some snippets slowing the pacing too much without really making any effect in its humour. In addition, some of the jokes should be condensed – too many times, relying on three different takes on the same punchline, sadly leading to a more worn-out result that erases the element of surprise.
Despite the ghosts of the train wreck (the title already beat me to the pun… oh, and just like that I’m back!) that the infamous Broadway musical (and Netflix meme generator), one can’t help but thinking that this production would have done better if developed as a parody musical. A intimate, cabaret-style gig with spoof songs that poke fun on the key moments of Diana’s journey, assembled through, perhaps, a more cunning monologue that would allow it to go further than a script that, though counting on many enjoyable parts, still feels a bit underdeveloped and requiring a more solid structure.
Silly, droll and extremely playful, Diana manages to make an impression through its easy, feel-good approach and on the whole engaging, safe-bet content, but struggles to secure its place on the throne by lacking a more elaborate delivery. A diverting melange of sketches pasted together with cohesiveness nonetheless, it’s that missing spark of zest and zazz that prevents it from doing the trick, and allow it to become what could have been an icon of its own. It’s not a spare, but still requires more work to turn into a thrilla in Manila.
All pictures credit to David Bird.
Diana, The Untold and Untrue Story plays at London’s King’s Head Theatre until 5 May. Tickets are available on the following link.
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