Backstairs Billy
Backstairs Billy - 2023 West End History , Info & More
Duke of York's Theatre
St Martin's Ln, Charing Cross, London WC2N 4BG, United Kingdom London WC2N 4BG
Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, Ever Decreasing Circles) and Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast, Nine Perfect Strangers) star in Marcelo Dos Santos’ hilarious new comedy Backstairs Billy, directed by Tony and Olivier award-winning director Michael Grandage.
1979. Inside Clarence House, The Queen Mother’s receptions are in full swing and the champagne is flowing. Guiding the proceedings is William ‘Billy’ Tallon, holder of the royal corgis and Her Majesty’s loyal servant.
Outside, strikes are bringing the country to its knees and Britain is on the verge of changing seismically under Margaret Thatcher. These two worlds are about to collide with dizzying consequences… Book your royal appointment today.
__Access Performances__
Captioned: 23rd November 7.30pm
Audio Described: 29th November 7.30pm
BSL: TBC
Backstairs Billy - 2023 - West End Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Backstairs Billy
Backstairs Billy review
6 / 10
Grandage’s production has its pleasures. Wilton brilliantly humanises the Queen Mother: tough, beady and remorselessly self-centred beneath her soft, powdery exterior, stewing in genteel displeasure that she’s been sidelined since her husband’s death, and staving off loneliness with gin and pointless chit-chat. Evans is a myopically snobbish, flamboyantly entertaining Billy, with his wicked, gimlet-eyed twinkle and swan-like, gliding efficiency. It is difficult to imagine how it could all be done better. But I’m also not entirely sure why you’d bother.
Backstairs Billy: Penelope Wilton makes a marvellous Queen Mother in the best royal drama in a decade
10 / 10
Their camaraderie may not have oiled the most crucial wheels of monarchy – as we cut between 1979 and 1952, when Tallon first arrived in the household as a callow youth, it’s made clear that the former Queen Consort is in constant danger of feeling like a spare part. But the energy lavished on enlivening the royal carry-on, against a backdrop of fiscal constraint and revolutionary winds of change, indicates the challenge of perpetuating the institution tout court.
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by Aliya Al-Hassan - January 9, 2024
Tickets from just £15 for Backstairs Billy-saving up to 56%!
by Aliya Al-Hassan - December 29, 2023
Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, Ever Decreasing Circles) and Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast, Nine Perfect Strangers) star in Marcelo Dos Santos’ hilarious new comedy Backstairs Billy, directed by Tony and Olivier award-winning director Michael Grandage.
by Aliya Al-Hassan - November 27, 2023
Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, Ever Decreasing Circles) and Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast, Nine Perfect Strangers) star in Marcelo Dos Santos’ hilarious new comedy Backstairs Billy, directed by Tony and Olivier award-winning director Michael Grandage.
by Laura Jones - November 8, 2023
As the curtain rises, we’re met with a sea of pink – pink damask walls and heavy pink velvet curtains, with pink and white flowers adorning every available surface. This is the Garden Room at Clarence House (brilliantly designed by Christopher Oram), and the year is 1979.
by Nicole Rosky - November 8, 2023
Michael Grandage Company just celebrated opening night of Marcelo Dos Santos’ new comedy Backstairs Billy which looks at a pivotal moment in the 50 year relationship between the Queen Mother and her loyal servant William “Billy” Tallon. Michael Grandage directs Penelope Wilton as the Queen Mother and Luke Evans as Billy.
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