The RSC production of Helen Edmundson's Queen Anne, starring Romola Garai as Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and Emma Cunniffe in the title role, is to transfer to the West End's Theatre Royal, Haymarket, beginning performances June 30, prior to an official opening July 10, for a run through September 30.
Directed by Natalie Abrahami, the play explores the life of one of England’s little-known sovereigns and her intimate friendship with her childhood confidante Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Set in 1702, when William III is on the throne and England is on the verge of war, Princess Anne is soon to become Queen, and her advisors vie for influence over the future monarch. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, a close friend with whom Anne has an intensely personal relationship, begins to exert increasing pressure as she pursues her own designs on power. Anne must decide where her allegiances lie, and whether to sacrifice her closest relationships for the sake of the country.
Garai is best known for her film appearances in Amazing Grace, Atonement, Vanity Fair, Inside I'm Dancing, Glorious 39, and Suffragette, and in the BBC series Emma, The Hour, and The Crimson Petal and the White. She has been nominated for a BAFTA and twice for a Golden Globe Award.
The RSC production will be presented in the West End by TRH Productions, Scott Landis, and Tulchin Bartner Productions.
For further details, and to book tickets (which go on general sale February 13), visit RSCQueenAnne.com.
