Diana, The Untold & Untrue Story
Kings Head Theatre • 17th April - 5th May
You don’t have to be a member of MENSA to notice that theatre productions with a proven track record at the box office often stand a good chance of reappearing for a second, third, (or, in some cases, even fourth) outing, and sometimes after only a surprisingly short time away. Whilst it’s legitimate to ask the question whether, in the current economic climate, theatres are currently hedging their bets with tried and trusted shows instead of taking a gamble on new and challenging productions, it’s also fair to say that Diana, The Untold And Untrue Story is one show that has more than earned it’s right to be back on the London stage after a sell-out run at last years Edinburgh Fringe as well as embarking on a successful UK tour since we first saw the show back in November 2022.
As such, in some ways Diana, The Untold And Untrue Story never seems to have actually gone away, (not unlike the People’s Princess herself), and it’s now become one of the highly original and always entertaining shows that Awkward Productions can pull from their arsenal to periodically perform, it being the equally enjoyable Gwyneth Goes Skiing that they are taking to this years Edinburgh Fringe. Whilst both shows have received almost universally positive reviews The Daily Mail online did call Diana, The Untold And Untrue Story both ‘ludicrous’ and ‘repellent trash’, but in all honesty… you just can’t buy publicity like that and the production company quite rightly wear such comments as a badge of honour! Maybe in another time and another place the writing/acting/producing/directing team of Linus Karp and Joseph Martin might have found themselves being unceremoniously marched off to the the tower and beheaded for treason, but these days the dynamic duo are mostly receiving a well deserved five stars, which is no mean feat given the show itself almost defies description. The title, whilst factually correct, in no way teases up what the audience can expect to see unfold in front of them and, in a strange way, the Daily Mail did get something right when they called it ludicrous, because it is… absolutely ludicrous… and it’s all the better for it.
Whilst Awkward Productions have a stab at summing up their own show as, ‘combining drag, multimedia, audience interaction, puppetry and a lot of queer joy – this unique celebration of the peoples princess is as hilarious as it is tasteless.’, Jack The Lad’s own 5 star review for the show’s 2022 outing, noted, “To be able to generate such levels of uncontrollable laughter at the end of almost every line, from beginning to end, is a rare skill, but this felt effortless in Karp’s hands, whether it be part of the finely honed script, a clever visual gag or the occasional unscripted moment that comes with the territory when taking the creative decision to involve the audience”.
These observations are as true for this second viewing as they were for the first. With the show now running at 75 mins my memory doesn’t allow me to pinpoint exactly where the extra 15 minutes has been generated, except for an appearance on video from Jeanna de Waal, (who originated the titular role in Diana: The Musical on Broadway). Geri Allen (currently appearing in the Olivier award winning Operation Mincemeat), also returns as The Queen in a number of cleverly utilised video insertions. It’s a testament to the increasing amount of love being generated for this talented pair that such collaborators are eager to get on board with Karp and Martins singularly unique comedy vision. It’s equally impressive that, second time around, this production has lost none of its ability to entertain, surprise and most importantly generate an endless amount of non-stop laughter, all of which leaves me with something of a dichotomy given that I awarded the original staging of the show with five stars… but an unconventional comedy deserves an equally unconventional rating, and I am left with no other option than to award this latest outing of Diana, The Untold And Untrue Story with Jack The Lad’s first ever 6 star review. (There goes the knighthood!)
Oh, yes… one last piece of business to take care of. For anyone who has seen the show before, (or has read any of my previous reviews for Awkward Production shows), you will no doubt be dying to know what the always present Name Generator threw up for me this time around. Well, let me put you out of your misery as, until the next Karp/Martin production hits the stage, I will henceforth be known as ‘Goopy Cat of the Fuckbois’. (Trust me, I’ve been called worse!)
★★★★★★
review: Simon J. Webb