"The Audience"

Today, May 20, 2013 my study abroad group went to watch a play called The Audience at the Gielgud Thetre off of Shaftesbury Avenue. The theatre was beautiful and had the old feeling of a classic theatre. The seats were very steep so everybody could see the stage from any seat in the theatre. My seat was on the upper level which I loved because I got to look down onto the stage and had a perfect view.

Personally, I really did enjoy the play although I did not understand some of the British jokes and history. The play was very focused on things that mainly a British person would know. For example, the inside jokes about the prime ministers, which obviously I had no idea about. Humor here seems to be a little dry, though!

  

Analysis
The Audience is a 2013 play by the British playwright and screenwriter Peter Morgan. The play is about the weekly meetings (or audiences, as they call them) between Queen Elizabeth II and her prime ministers. The meetings, which in real life were never recorded, are played out as what the writer assumed happened, based on British history. The prime ministers are depicted as how they are remembered in history, displaying their most famous traits or sayings.

The play also focuses on the Queen's emotions and her thoughts about being Queen. "Flashbacks" of the Queen as a little girl are shown, with the present day Queen talking to her younger self. These moments in the play really gave the Queen personality and made her feel more like an actual human being and less like simply Royalty. 

Tradition of Power 

The Queen meeting with one
of her prime ministers.

This play was a really good example of tradition of power. The tradition of the Queen meeting with her prime minister once a week is an important part to England's political history. These meetings gave the Queen and prime minister an opportunity to discuss what was going on in their country and if any actions were necessary. I believe England may not be the way that it is today without the weekly audiences that have been taking place.


Pride in Place
Watching how the Queen was portrayed in the play really showed an example of pride. She was very proud to be the Queen of England; not necessarily in a boastful way, though. In the play the Queen made statements similar to "I will do anything for my England" and "I will always serve my country." These statements show that she is prideful to be Queen but is really more in service for her country.

The Queen at a young age, however, was not really as proud to be treated like royalty. She was young, wanted to be treated like everybody else, and simply didn't understand why she couldn't be normal. The Audience did a great job of showing the Queen's transformation into a prideful and loyal Queen.

Reflection
The Audience really gave me a taste of the politics in England. I really had no idea how politics worked here so the play really helped show me in a comical way. I also learned that the Queen did not always want to be Queen and that she is not boastful. She does not think highly of herself; rather she lives to serve her country, not to have her country serve her.

I would like to learn a lot more about the laws in England and how the system works. I would like to compare the requirements of being a lawyer in England versus in the US. Also, I believe it would be interesting to compare the duties, requirements, etc. of the Queen compared to our President.