The production opens at Theatre Royal Bath on 5 June and runs until 14 June before touring to Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, Malvern Festival Theatre, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, Richmond Theatre, London, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and Lowry, Salford.
Complete casting has now been announced for the world première of Daisy Goodwin’s By Royal Appointment directed by Dominic Dromgoole.
Joining the previously announced Anne Reid (Queen Elizabeth II) and Caroline Quentin (The Dresser) are James Dreyfus (The Milliner) and James Wilby (The Designer).
The late Queen Elizabeth II was famous for her discretion. She never said anything in public that could ruffle the lightest of feathers. But she had one way of expressing what she really thought – through her wardrobe.
By Royal Appointment is a funny, poignant and celebratory new play about the kind of power that only a Queen can wield – she charms the world through coats and admonishes her family through a carefully chosen hat.
But the Queen herself is uninterested in fashion, her look is managed by her Designer, her Milliner and most powerful of all, her Dresser who was a working-class girl who goes from advising the Queen on the colour of her lipsticks to the real power behind the throne. But the Dresser, like all royal favourites is living on borrowed time.
By Royal Appointment is Daisy Goodwin’s debut play. For television, her writing credits include ITV historical drama series Victoria. Her novels include The Last Duchess, The Fortune Hunter, The American Heiress, Victoria and Diva, she has curated eight poetry anthologies.
The creative team behind the production includes: Designer: Jonathan Fensom; Lighting Designer: Oliver Fenwick and Sound design: Ella Wahlström.