REVIEW - By Royal Appointment sets its own standards and meets them with a regal class that is fit for any Queen

On Wednesday, we were invited to Lowry, Salford to see By Royal Appointment. Read what our reviewer Karen Ryder had to say about this regal show...

I have to start by saying what an absolute privilege it was to watch such an iconic and stellar cast in By Royal Appointment, and on a personal note Anne Reid and Caroline Quentin in particular.  I have admired these two women from afar for many pleasurable years and so tonight was always going to be a special event.  It did not disappoint.  As a Royal fanfare rings out through the theatre, Caroline Quentin takes to the stage with her own kind of regal authority, immediately drawing us in with her wonderful ability to create humour out of any situation.  Her character, The Queen’s dresser, has just returned from Her Majesty’s funeral and has found herself surplus to requirements. Instead of understanding and sympathy at the loss of her closest confident, and yes, dare she say best friend, she is instead barraged for information and the exemplary records of her life’s work.  Indeed, the locks to the jewellery safes were even changed whilst she was at the funeral!  The story then takes us back to the beginning of The Dressers relationship with The Queen and follows a format of following the passing of time through introducing specific years with a narration of key historical and popular cultural events, and of course, The Queens iconic outfits. 

Each scene gives us a more candid and honest insight into the developing relationships between The Queen, The Dresser, The Milliner, and The Designer.  This trio of advisors may not always have got on, but one thing they agreed on with passion and loyalty was their devotion to enabling their Queen to speak volumes through her clothes without ever uttering a word.  As a royal aide once told a reporter, “Nothing the Queen does is by accident,” and so we start to discover the messages and statements behind a particular piece of jewellery, the significance of a chosen colour palate, or the importance of a particular design.  The stories that unfold are simply fascinating.  Discovering the playful and determined demeanour beneath each detailed choice was enthralling and often surprising.  For instance, for her meeting with the Duchess Of Windsor, infamous for declaring that you can never be too rich or too thin, the expectation was for The Queen to out glam her, out royal her with opulence.  Instead, she wore a tweed suit with a material that reminded her of the waiting room chairs at British Rail but accessorised with a brooch containing one of the largest diamonds in the world, in other words, priceless class.  Another example was wearing a brooch her Father King George VI bought her on an occasion when she wanted her father by her side.

Throughout the performance, key moments in the history of The Royals are marked and referred to, such as Prince William and Kate’s wedding, whilst other are more noticeable by omission such as the death of Princess Diana or the Prince Andrew scandal.  Perhaps individual feelings towards this may be influenced by your personal views, or perhaps you’ll agree it is an inspired choice, ensuring the play doesn’t meander into an entirely different agenda, instead remaining focused on the intertwined relationships of our main characters and the extraordinary task The Queen had of dedicating her life to an entire Nation.  Hers is a remarkable story.  She was never meant to be Queen, her father never meant to be King.  But life is full of plot twists and as her destiny was rewritten at the tender age of ten when her father did indeed become King, it was a mere 15 years later when she took The Crown herself and dedicated her entire life to serve her country for the following 70 years.  It is an astonishing and significant achievement in which her endurance withstood moments of dissonance between the public and The Monarchy, whilst personally retaining their affection and making great waves to modernise the institution.

By Royal Appointment takes place in one location, perhaps an undisclosed private chamber of The Queen.  We are certainly given the overall feel of wealth, comfort, and calm with the set designed by Jonathan Fensom.  Grand columns stand pivotal at the back of the stage, which is dressed in a variety of chairs, and a free-standing door that we learn houses the jewels.  Projections of design sketches mixed together with actual images of The Queen in her various key outfits are beautifully woven into the narrations by The Curator.  These moments, created by Nina Dunn for Pixellux, not only share iconic content, but become emotive and moving moments within the show.  The images are instantly recognisable, and inexplicably more touching the more they occur.  The research and care taken with the outfits portrayed in the show have clearly been a labour of love.  With 70 years worth of clothes to choose from, I have no idea where the process of choosing the right ones for this story would even start, but each one lovingly enhanced the narrative and gave us just the right glimpse at just the right time, into a world previously beyond our grasp.  Written by Daisy Goodwin, and directed by Dominic Dromgoole, By Royal Appointment is a truly unique show that harbours its own framework of what storytelling can be.  There is no big drama, no villain to overthrow, no race against the clock, no focus on conflict or tension.  Instead, for me at least, it is about insight, personal growth, unconventional friendships, dedication and loyalty.  It is about the drawbacks and rewards of such things, the ironic flaws of living the so called perfect life, and the idea that each and every one of us, even those who live mostly in the public eye, are always far more complex beings than they may ever allow anyone to see, whether that be through choice or necessity.         

The casting of this show is sublime.  Anne Reid as The Queen is a work of art in itself.  Her exquisite ability to make us encompass a multitude of feelings, to extract the perfect sentiment at the most pivotal moment, and to encourage us to grow with the character is phenomenal to experience in a live setting such as theatre.  Through her performance, we are given a beautiful glimpse into who Elizabeth was aside from her Monarch title.  We see a soft, subtle, caring nature, one that deepens as the years pass with her trusted advisors by her side.  We see humanity, humour, a sharp wit, a mind open to suggestion but not one to be taken advantage of.  We see empathy, acceptance, and a razor sharp intelligence that despite many temptations, never loses sight of her own purpose, to serve her country.  Anne Reid balances an almost impossible duo of authority and humbleness so subtly that both her comedic skills and emotive skills are given equal billing. 

Caroline Quentin is outstanding as The Dresser.  Her innate ability to make you laugh with a look, a pause, a grunt, or the pitch perfect delivery of a wonderfully written line is incredible.  She tells the untold story of real life Angela Kelly (renamed in the show), The Queens personal assistant, advisor, curator, and confidant.  This role is stupendous in the hands of someone such as Caroline Quentin, who gives us such a well rounded and layered persona, that we not only see the focused ambition and drive of this lady, but equally see where the drive comes from in the underlying struggle of a Northern woman fighting to be taken seriously in Royal circles.  She is not beyond being ruthless enough to try and under mind and undercut the role of The Designer, believing she can do just as good a job – a belief she proves to be true in her later years – but simultaneously shows a tenderness for The Queen by anticipating her every need not just out of duty, but out of genuine love and respect.  Quentin brings all of these opposing paradoxes to light with ease, making her role authentic and intriguing.   

At this evening’s performance Jeremy Drakes was The Milliner and was fabulous.  He brought us a passionate character, full of flavour, creativity, and a zest for life.  Always pushing the boundaries with his designs, he sparred beautifully with James Wilby as The Designer and as a duo their feisty relationship was brilliant to watch and brought an integral energy to the show.  In contrast to this, he had some heartbreakingly honest scenes when his professional mask slipped and he was just a human being, grieving over his friend who he had visited on one of the 1980’s HIV wards, who no longer recognised him.  Similarly, James Wilby gave us his own brand of exceptional humour and wit pitched against a delicate backstory of someone who had traumatically fought and killed in the war.  But most heartbreaking of all was his longing for his father’s approval, who couldn’t accept him because of his sexuality, and just as he achieved something he believed would make his father proud, it was too late.  His emotive scene was moving to say the least.  Gráinne Dromgoole as The Curator was wonderful at keeping the pace of the show, connecting the different time framed scenes with small vignettes of information relating to the year in question.  Her delivery of these was extremely clever, knowing exactly how and when to elicit laughter, nostalgia, raw emotional recall, or bittersweet memories.  And there was just something innately funny about hearing someone with received pronunciation talk about such mundane popular culture references such as Dirty Den delivering Angie divorce papers in the Eastenders Christmas day special, or Posh marrying Becks.  These vignettes gave us a mix of information and the reactions from the audience to certain ones were interesting and revealing.  The mention of Mohamed Al-Fayed buying Harrods was met with a regretful moan, The Morecombe And Wise Christmas show met with a sigh of contentment, Bucks Fizz winning the Eurovision song contest met with a warm giggle.  This is a really engaging way to keep the show moving and I suspect will elicit different responses at each show.

There are some wonderful moments and brilliantly written lines in this show - so many in fact that I couldn’t get my brain to remember them all quick enough as take aways – a perfect reason to see this show again one day.  From Anne Reid as The Queen reflecting on why our British Monarch Queens have been shot at, yet never the Kings – “No one ever tried to kill my Father….well except Hitler,” to Caroline Quentin as The Dresser making light of her insecurity regarding her roots whilst discussing her dreams – “I wanted to be the world’s first female astronomer - but there weren’t many astronomy schools in Wigan!”  And perhaps one that struck a chord with the benefit of hindsight, from The Queen when Prince Harry was first born – “Now we have an Heir and a spare!”  “It can’t be much fun being described as a spare.”  “Fun?  We are not here to have fun.  We are here to serve.”  And serve her nation is exactly what The Queen did right until the end, an end that By Royal Appointment handled with love and care.  A painful reminder of those heartbreaking images of her sat alone at Prince Philips funeral during covid before she left our world to join him once more.  The show gives us a glimpse into the inner sanctum of a Royal world beyond the public gaze and the sensationalised portrayal offered by the media.  It is funny, naturalistic, punctuated with endless popular culture trivia across the decades, and answers one of the most intriguing questions of all time – what did The Queen carry in her handbag?!  That’s worth a ticket to the show alone right!   By Royal Appointment is a wonderfully understated play that doesn’t need to scream and shout to grab your attention.  Instead, it carefully draws you in courtesy of its warmth, its wit, and its charm.  It sets its own standards and meets them with a regal class that is fit for any Queen. 

WE SCORE BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT...



By Royal Appointment is on at Lowry, Salford until Saturday 9th August 2025.

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