Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story

Any piece that begins with Diana telling the story of her life from heaven, even though it’s questionable if she died at all, is setting up a blast of ribald and total nonsense. Which is exactly what Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story is. Already having a certain cult status this 75-minute romp relies heavily on the audience literally taking part in the show. The audiences seem very much up for the challenge and quite frankly were as funny as the rehearsed parts of the show. These are specifically selected people, so don’t let that put any less theatrical person from seeing the show. Although whether this would work as well with a less enthusiastic crowd might be questionable.

Playing Diana with such bravado is Linus Karp. The way that he has all the Diana mannerisms and yet able to camp it up, often on the verge of grotesque, without ever losing the charm and empathy is amazing. The show is crammed with a madcap series of chronological highlights of Diana’s rise form shy privileged girl to the ‘people’ princess’. Then beyond to a life that only she could dream of, taking the world by storm.

It is done through much use of filmed sequences of characters such as the Queen and God where conversations are had directly with screen by Diana and the unsuspecting audience members. Prince Charles is there as a cardboard cut-out which comes under extreme fire from a demonic rag doll version of Camilla. Co-director, voice of Charles, and puppeteer Joseph Martin storms the stage as he flails Camilla around, with so much verve that he destroyed Prince Charles cut-out 1 and luckily there was a standby cut-out 2 to finish the show.

The writing in any anarchic piece is bound to have some moments of total hilarity and others that don’t sit quite as well, and being a cabaret style show, some of the costume changes feel a little laboured. Although, the pay-off when we see the Wedding dress with its veil that fills the theatre, and the black ‘revenge dress’ are totally worth any delays.

This is a show to forget the little foibles and wallow in the recreation of Diana that Karp brings in his own regal indomitable way.