Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren (“The Queen”), plays Queen Elizabeth II in the Tony Award-winning production of “The Audience,” at 7 p.m. Friday, August 30 in the Newport Performing Arts Center’s Alice Silverman Theatre. The event is hosted by Dennis White and Martha Wallace.
Captured live from London’s West End in 2013, the original broadcast returns to live-in-HD screenings to mark National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday. Written by Peter Morgan, the play is directed by Stephen Daldry. Mirren and Richard McCabe, who plays Prime Minister Harold Wilson, both received Olivier and Tony awards for their performances.
For 60 years, Queen Elizabeth II has met with each of her 12 prime ministers in a private weekly meeting. This meeting is known as The Audience. No one knows what they discuss, not even their spouses. From the old warrior Winston Churchill, to Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher and finally David Cameron, the Queen advises her prime ministers on all matters both public and personal. Through these private audiences, we see glimpses of the woman behind the crown and witness the moments that shaped a monarch.