Review: The Elizabeths, The Playground Theatre

As part of Women’s Voices: A Celebration, Janet Dulin Jones brings The Elizabeths to the Playground Theatre. This staged reading tells of an encounter between Elizabeth I, Queen of England, and Elizabeth II, Queen of England, at the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula. The encounter is meant to shed a light on these two regal figures, exploring the challenges that arise when mixing womanhood and monarchy.

Caroline Goodall plays Elizabeth Tudor while Rachel Pickup plays Elizabeth Windsor, and the interactions between the two queens are excellently crafted and enjoyable. The slightly fantasy nature of their meeting, while a touch ridiculous, is embraced and taken to its natural conclusions. There are many funny moments in which the 1600s mentality comes face-to-face with the early 2000s, all of which manage to land wonderfully. But there is also a lot of drama and sadness in the personal tragedies that both queens, especially Tudor, have gone through. In between these, beautiful moments of genuine kinship occur between the two characters; moments in which they connect in their experience as women, as queens, and as daughters to mothers that are no longer there. Dulin Jones manages to mix these tones and moments in a seamless manner, allowing them all to exist without overshadowing one another.

What is not as seamless is the handling of the historical matter itself. There is a heavy imbalance between the two queens, especially given that Windsor knows everything there is to know about Tudor. This imbalance shows itself quite prominently in Windsor taking an interviewer-like role, fading into the background while Tudor is explored throughout most of the show. The attempt at exploring womanhood and monarchy in both characters also falls a bit short, as the comparison between the two seem to be more focused on the time difference. There is a lot more interest in what women have gained in the last century, as well as society as a whole, rather than exploring the new challenges of the era and how they compare to the challenges of before. It would seem from this show that Windsor did not truly struggle. The memories represented on stage lean into this disparity, showing mostly warm and pleasant memories for Windsor, always supported by those around her, while Tudor’s always relate to an undeniable struggle she had to face alone. In the end, between the many memories and the imbalance between the two queens, the production ends up feeling more like a history show that favours Tudor, featuring Windsor.

Goodall’s Tudor and Pickup’s Windsor carry a two hour show completely on their backs. In the memory scenes, the actors additionally portray a range of characters, going from Mary Queen of Scots to Prince Philip, without losing momentum. Goodall’s Tudor is the highlight, being a comedic force, a woman in despair, and a solemn queen whenever the situation requires. She feels like the more complete character of the two. Pickup’s Windsor portrays quite faithfully the queen most of us remember, with a perfect air of calm and witty charm. This portrayal, though, overwhelms most of the performance, rarely allowing the audience to see beyond the facade of a queen into the woman behind. The moments in which the character breaks, towards the end of the show, are refreshing to see, and made me want more of her.

There is a lot of promise in this premise, and a lot of good work has already been done in performance, characterisation, and the visual elements such as staging and costuming. However, the imbalance in the historical focus delivers less than what is promised.

Written by Janet Dulin Jones
Directed by Anthony Biggs & Janet Dulin Jones
Associate Producer: Brian Cox
Composed by Sadie Jemmett
Sound by Harry Mullin
Costumes by Gregor Donnelly
Presented with the support of The Well-Played Collective

The Elizabeths has finished its run at The Playground Theatre. You can read more about Women’s Voices: A Celebration 2026 in our recent interview with co-producer Naomi Sorkin