Written by Kieran Bycroft. Photo by Nigel Etherington.
Friday, 12 October 2007
Two Old Queens starts with Edgar Metcalfe walking onto the stage as the Queen Mother. One almost feels compelled to stand and bow as he physically embodies the much-loved monarch who seemed to outlive everyone. Including Noel Coward!
Now I’ve heard of Noel Coward – mainly due to a song covered by Pet Shop Boys – but I wasn’t really familiar with his history. Nor did I need to be. Two Old Queens is 90 minutes of a delightful recounting of the history of a friendship, drawn for us through a series of stories, anecdotes, songs and a quite cleverly crafted game of charades.
At the unveiling of a statue in his honour at the Theatre Royal toward the end of last century, the spirit of Noel Coward surprises the Queen Mother. Immediately we learn that they had a lot more in common than a passion for Gin. They were born a year apart at the turn of the 19th century, with their lives crossing paths frequently until Coward’s death in 1973.
Metcalfe plays the Queen Mother with believable frailty, a frailty exacerbated by her cautious fondness for a blithely irreverent old friend. John Michael Swinbank doesn’t so much embody Coward as he does the title of the play, singing Coward’s lyrics as if they’re second nature, telling a story with each song.
I only recognised one song at this preview performance, the glorious “Mad About The Boy”. Writer/Director John Senczuk uses this song as Coward’s eulogy to Prince George, Duke of Kent, with whom it’s thought Coward had quite a long intimate relationship. This tender moment gives Swinbank’s Coward much-needed depth and provides the play compassion, cushioning its sardonic wit and merry musicality.
Metcalfe and Swinbank support each other beautifully through a script that sometimes feels like a history lecture. You forgive Metcalfe for forgetting which word he is up to acting out in their game of charades because you have, too. But while the Queen Mother may have overstayed her welcome, luckily this play knows when its time has come.
You don’t need to be a fan of Coward’s work to enjoy Two Old Queens. The intimacy of the venue and the rapport between the two leads, both scripted and beyond, make for an enjoyable evening.
Two Old Queens is playing at the Blue Room Studio from 12 October until 3 November, 2007. For information on how to purchase tickets, click here.
Comments (2)
Matters of State... written by Diamond Sceptre, October 13, 2007 - 1:39:32 am CDT
Kieran, you are so right about the impact of the entrance of the Queen Mother. Such likeness. Such stature. Anyone who any interest in the British royalty, from Victoria (not Posh) to Diana will love this show. I saw the 9pm on Friday and it was pretty polished. Let us hope John Michael Swinbank reinvents Noel Coward for many years to come.
Debut written by Kieran, October 14, 2007 - 12:31:55 pm CDT
Glad to see people enjoying the arts... I should have mentioned that the preview performance I saw was the debut performance of the play... anywhere.
Hats off to the team!
I am also glad to see Diamond Sceptre not defining the Beckhams as royalty....
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Two Old Queens starts with Edgar Metcalfe walking onto the stage as the Queen Mother. One almost feels compelled to stand and bow as he physically embodies the much-loved monarch who seemed to outlive everyone. Including Noel Coward!
Love All will return in 2009, with organisers bringing the event
forward to February to take advantage of the guaranteed summer weather.
The 2008 Pride Parade may have been among the smallest, and certainly
the fastest in Pride's 19 years, but it remains a relevant and
important event according to this year's convenor, Charles Denham.
Gay favourite Rachel Berger is among the headliners this year as the Wild West Comedy Fest returns
to Perth for 26 days of hilarity and hijinks. Other Australian comedy
stars on the bill include Bob Franklin, Tom Gleeson, Fiona O’Loughlin
and Scared Little Weird
Guys.
Rebuilding trust was the key to the success of this year's Pride events
according to festival convenor, Kieran Bycroft. While some events did
less well than expected, many attracted good crowds and some film and
theatre sessions were sold out.
African-American and Latino voters were a powerful force in electing Barack Obama and also in passing Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage. Exit polls
showed 70 percent of black voters, and a majority of Latino
voters, voted yes to the ban. More 
Three US states passed amendments banning same-sex marriage in the historic vote that also saw the election of the nation's first black president. Voters in California, Arizona and Florida approved proposals to outlaw same-sex
marriage. More 
Having failed to save same-sex marriage, GLBT Californians are taking their fight to court. City attorneys from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Clara will seek to invalidate Proposition 8 on the grounds that it conflicts with the equal
protection pillars of the state Constitution. More 
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vile and crazy Rev Fred Phelps speaks out for the first time about the violent abuse he
suffered at the hands of his father. Read it 
US analysis of data on 53,567 men who have sex with other men has
found that circumcision is ineffective in reducing HIV rates.
African trials have shown circumcision cuts the likelihood of male to female HIV transmission by up to 60 per cent. More 
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October 2007, up 8 percent from 2006. Cases among gay and bisexual men jumped to 3.3 percent in 2007 from 0.4 percent in 2005. More 
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perfect night out. However amid the fifth round of drinks and
renditions of I Kissed a Girl, you can't help but feel a rift over the
dance floor.
From the Pride theatre and film seasons through to the Great Gay &
Lesbian Debate, Parade and Party, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's
Pride Festival. View footage from the debate and Parade and read about my festival highlights and the challenges I think Pride faces next year.
In winning today’s Presidential election, Barack Obama has provided the
world with the opportunity for a new beginning and his country with the
opportunity to put the disastrous Bush years behind it.
For some time now it's been popular among members of Generation Y to
declare that something is "so gay" to indicate that it's dumb, silly,
bad, ugly, unattractive, geeky, embarrassing, gaudy or even just plain
dull. That’s so gay. That’s so gay.
That’s so gay. It's the dull that hurts the most.
While I may not be the first person to go out on a limb and declare
that Barack Obama will win this year's Presidential election, I may be
among the first to declare that Sarah Palin will win the Republican
nomination and challenge him in 2012. That is, if she hasn't
bankrupted the Republicans with her wardrobe expenses first.
The global financial meltdown and impending economic Armageddon may
have an unexpected upside. For the first time in half a generation,
there may finally be a pool of people with the time on their
hands necessary to build exciting Parade floats.
written by Diamond Sceptre, October 13, 2007 - 1:39:32 am CDT
Kieran, you are so right about the impact of the entrance of the Queen Mother. Such likeness. Such stature. Anyone who any interest in the British royalty, from Victoria (not Posh) to Diana will love this show. I saw the 9pm on Friday and it was pretty polished. Let us hope John Michael Swinbank reinvents Noel Coward for many years to come.
written by Kieran, October 14, 2007 - 12:31:55 pm CDT
Glad to see people enjoying the arts... I should have mentioned that the preview performance I saw was the debut performance of the play... anywhere.
Hats off to the team!
I am also glad to see Diamond Sceptre not defining the Beckhams as royalty....