Written & Directed by Stephen M Hornby


Structurally, Die Diana is a set of three monologues, linked by thoroughly meta conversations between the multiple Dianas. Each could exist as a performance piece by itself, but together they deliver a smorgasbord of delightful trivia, underpinned by three accomplished performances. Wallace (also known as Anna Phylactic when in drag) gives a bubbly performance, skipping through the lighter parts of the story. However, whilst delivering a stand-up routine of Diana jokes, his performance finds a darker poignancy as he momentarily exposes an angle on the princess very rarely discussed since her death: the establishment’s opinion that she was incredibly shallow. Meanwhile, Wilson explores Diana’s anger, even personifying it as a track-suited hoodlum in a hoody. While little is known of Diana’s rages, reports have surfaced over the years of her furious temper and here, the actor skips backwards and forwards between her poised façade and something darker, lurking behind those doe eyes. And Heyworth, whose performance as the Diana we all knew and recognise was captivating, effervesced with the mischief and vim that the public loved about the princess. As the play goes on, Diana becomes less and less like we remember her, but with Heyworth at the start, this is the Diana where the Myth began. But just like this Myth, so too has “Diana” as we know her morphed and evolved to become an entity far FAR removed from the reality twenty years ago. It’s this that Die Diana really explores; whatever she actually was doesn’t matter anymore, what matters is the Myth that far outlived her, that has become, like all folklore, different depending on who you ask.
