This post is going to be a little bit different to my usual reviews. I’ve never hidden my negative thoughts on Diana the Musical since its Netflix proshot became an instant meme, swept the Razzies and ended up on the long list of notorious Broadway flops. With this in mind, I was curious when a one night only concert version would be coming to the Eventim Apollo. After some umming and ahhing (and finding a ticket for cheap on Twickets), I ultimately decided to go and see the campy mess for myself. So, was it better than a Guinness and a wank, or should it be given a feckity feckity feckity feckity feck you?
Diana the Musical in Concert
Cast
- Diana Princess of Wales: Kerry Ellis
- Lady Diana Spencer: Maiya Quansah-Breed
- Prince Charles: Andy Coxon
- Camilla Parker-Bowles: Alice Fearn
- Queen Elizabeth II: Denise Welch
- Lady Sarah Spencer: Aleyna Mohanraj
- James Hewitt: Jay Perry
Rating ★★
What’s Diana the Musical in Concert about?
Diana the Musical is exactly what it says – a depiction of the life and legacy of the People’s Princess. Starting as the shy Lady Diana Spencer, she reclaims her power during and after her infamously miserable marriage to Prince Charles. That’s about it.
What are my feelings of Diana the Musical in Concert?
I’m not going to say too much on my feelings about Diana the Musical’s story that was a Simple English Wikipedia recap of events and had one dimensional characterisation, bland pop music and hilariously clunky lyrics because anything I say will feel redundant at this point. There’s no denying its ‘so bad it’s good’ qualities as it fails to be the deep introspective look into Diana’s life and legacy it wanted to be as it’s filled with unintentional humour. In terms of this concert version, there are elements I felt worked for the better and worse. Does that mean it’s good? No.
Despite some improvements to the material, Diana the Musical still feels like it’s suffering an identity crisis as it feels hesitant to fully embrace the camp everyone came to see. From cutting certain lines that garnered Internet infamy while keeping others to directing potentially funny scenes to be played straight in spite of their questionable taste, I couldn’t help but notice the rest of the material felt bland compared to the moments that got audiences in bouts of laughter like they were at their local panto.
I also need to mention the staging for Diana the Musical in concert because they added to the so bad it’s good feel. There was a genereal lack of choreography with characters mostly walking around that could’ve been given more energy if the ensemble had a chance to dance. While I enjoyed the costuming with Diana’s casual chic looks and a delicious revenge dress reveal, it was disappointing to see the concert not fully commit to it. That’s also not mentioning the frequent sound and lighting issues including a mic flub during the first song that immediately set the tone for the concert.
What changes were made?
It was an oddly pleasant surprise to see that instead of doing a direct copy of the Broadway production’s script, the creatives took the time to make changes, most notably double casting Diana into Lady Diana Spencer and Diana Princess of Wales. With Diana Princess of Wales acting as narrator during her younger years with lines once given to the ensemble and Charles being given to her, it added a touch of self-awareness. This results in the frankly pointless addition of Barbara Cartland being completely cut out. Whether that removes some camp is another discussion, but I felt it to be a welcome change despite it also cutting important exposition that reveals the reasons behind Diana’s actions.
What was the cast like?
The one thing that brought this beautiful mess of a show together was the cast. Always a pleasure to see onstage, Kerry Ellis went into full diva mode as Diana Princess of Wales next to Maiya Quansah-Breed’s near comedically meek Diana Spencer. Alice Fearn was simply inspired casting as Camilla Parker Bowles, who managed to bring stoicness and phenomenal singing even when greeted to a chorus of boos. The same applies to Andy Coxon as a more prissy Prince Charles.
The one disappointment to me was Denise Welch as Queen Elizabeth. I’m unsure whether this was due to the real Queen Elizabeth passing away last year and the creatives were scared that a comedic depiction would offend the royalists in the audience, but her role was heavily reduced and played painfully straight to the point Denise Welch felt miscast. This was especially egregious when they cut out a line about the Queen watching Coronation Street that would’ve been comedy gold with a former Corrie star uttering it.
Jay Perry served his one job like his life depended on it as James Hewitt, succeeding to the point the audience drowned out his singing high note and riotously laughed at his cringey riding innuendoes. The other characterisation that confused me was Aleyna Mohanraj as Sarah Spencer, who acts so dismissive of Diana’s struggles including bulimia and post-partum depression (neither of which are handled sensitively).
What are my overall thoughts on Diana the Musical in Concert?
Watching Diana the Musical in Concert felt like watching the first screening of The Room – the making of a cult classic that was so much fun even with its badness that you just had to be there to see it unfold. Sadly, that’s not the say the show itself is good, and I’m not sure what else the creatives can do to make it the product they intended when it’s found a life of its own as a cheesy campfest to laugh along to with your friends.
Seeing them still trying to take the material seriously feels like a missed opportunity because a reason why I think it’s easier to get away with campier depictions of Princess Diana (as we’ve seen on Off-West End and Fringe) is because of her status as an LGBTQIA+ icon. On top of her massive contributions to destigmatising AIDS in the 1980s, her overall camp from her fashion choices, musical taste to the general high drama from the love triangle seen by the world have endeared her to the community, and I feel a campy musical would be a great way of paying tribute to that side of her personality.
Will this have a future anywhere, let alone London? Who knows. All I know is Diana the Musical in Concert ended up being one of my most eventful nights this year, but not in the way it probably intended.
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