Unbeatable TimeLine cast makes 'The Audience' a winner
In poker, a royal flush beats all.
For the theatrical equivalent, look to the cast of TimeLine Theatre's impeccably executed production of “The Audience,” Peter Morgan's imagined account of the weekly meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and her prime ministers.
Led by an ace - the superb, subtle Janet Ulrich Brooks - director Nick Bowling's royal flush features five accomplished actors and a youngster who holds her own opposite them.
To be clear, “The Audience” - which unfolds mostly in Buckingham Palace between 1952 and 2015 - is all conjecture on the part of Morgan, screenwriter of 2006's “The Queen” and is writer/creator of Netflix's “The Crown.” Because no records exist of the private audiences between Her Majesty and her ministers, Morgan offers in his talky, nonlinear drama imagined glimpses of cordially reserved tête-à-têtes between two leaders fiercely devoted to their nation's welfare.
Their duties and the passion with which they perform them is never in question in Bowling's affectionate, eloquent revival, astutely staged in-the-round - beneath the grandest of chandeliers - on Jeffrey Kmiec's all-white set. (With Elizabeth, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher on stage, what more color do you need?).
In Bowling's intimate production, the audience sits a few feet from the action, which means every move a character makes - from a raised eyebrow or a dipped chin, to a fidget or a slump - gets noticed.
Brooks and fellow cast members Matt DeCaro, David Lively, Carmen Roman and Mark Ulrich (most of whom play multiple roles) exceptionally convey the characters' vocal and physical nuances.
In a play that hopscotches over six decades, Brooks emerges as a most impressive conjurer, transforming herself from twenty-something neophyte to octogenarian master and back again. It's evident in how she holds herself, in the timbre of her voice. Most striking is how well Brooks' communicates with her eyes and expression the sovereign's curiosity, humor, frustration, will and humanity. That may be “The Audience's” great achievement. It makes us believe we know a woman raised to be unknowable. It humanizes, with help from Elizabeth's younger self (Audrey Edwards, alternating with Sophie Ackerman), the woman who is a national symbol or as Ulrich's David Cameron calls her, the “unbroken line” from Churchill to himself.
The first prime minister we meet is Ulrich's endearingly overwhelmed John Major, whose dismal approval rating causes him to seek guidance from his queen, who generously serves as a kind of therapist. He returns later for the unenviable purpose of informing Her Majesty about growing anti-royal sentiment following the Charles-Diana scandal.
Lively's discreet, understated Equerry - a palace officer who narrates the action and serves as docent - next introduces us to DeCaro's terse Churchill. The politician, who proposes to instruct the future queen during their weekly ritual, is schooled by the shrewd sovereign, who perceives how much his political fortune depends on her cooperation. That canniness is also evident in Elizabeth's chilling 1956 exchange with Anthony Eden (a cool, certain Ulrich) during which she reveals how fully she comprehends (and disapproves) of his plans to intervene militarily on behalf of Israel in their fight with Egypt over the Suez Canal. More overtly incendiary is the composed, caustic confrontation with Margaret Thatcher (the exquisitely steely Roman, resplendent in Reagan red). Livid over criticism attributed to the palace, Thatcher refuses to impose sanctions on the repressive South African government and balks at financing commonwealth sovereigns the queen considers friends.
The play's most charming moments are between Elizabeth and blue-collar Labour leader Harold Wilson (an affably blustering DeCaro), who calls her a proper “Labour lady.” Separated by class, united by compassion, they are as close to being friends as they can be, something “The Audience's” penultimate scene poignantly suggests.
It's a winning moment for Brooks and DeCaro, exactly what you'd expect from Timeline's royal flush.
“The Audience”
★ ★ ★ ½
Location: TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago, (773) 281-8463, ext. 6, or
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 12
Tickets: $40-$54
Running time: About two hours, 10 minutes including intermission
Parking: Metered street parking and paid lots available
Rating: For most audiences