Grinnell College to Stream British Production of “The Audience” on March 8

Feb 26, 2020

Scene from "The Audience": Helen Mirren plays Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher is played by Haydn Gwynne

Helen Mirren plays Queen Elizabeth II, who consults with and provides consolation for Margaret Thatcher, played by Haydn Gwynne.

Event Information

Time: 3 p.m.
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2020
Place: Harris Center Cinema, 1114 10th Ave., Grinnell

The Audience is a lively imagining of the private weekly meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and each of her twelve prime ministers. Known as The Audience, these meetings are highly secretive. No one knows what they discuss, not even their spouses.

Spanning her 60-year reign, the production proceeds nonlinearly: from Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher and finally David Cameron. In between these official appointments are the monarch’s conversations with her eleven-year-old self, who looks forward with trepidation at her future.

The advising goes both ways, with the Queen providing and receiving counsel on all matters public and personal. Praised by reviewers in the United Kingdom, The Daily Telegraph calls it “wholly tremendous … Mirren also captures the Queen’s moments of vulnerability.” According to The Times, “The Audience” is “funny and truthful. I loved every minute.”