Victoria: A Queen Unbound Review – Darkness Lurks Beneath the Myth of a Model Royal Marriage
At the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, screenwriter Daisy Goodwin's new play Victoria: A Queen Unbound presents a startling re-examination of one of history's most celebrated royal unions. The production imagines an elderly Queen Victoria revisiting her diaries, uncovering a narrative of control and coercion hidden behind Prince Albert's dutiful devotion.
A Fretful Monarch Confronting Her Past
Amanda Boxer portrays Victoria in the dank twilight of her reign, a fretful owl swathed in black bombazine, simultaneously withering and imperious yet prone to self-pity. Her character laments being "a poor widow with no one to support me through all my tribulations." As an inveterate diary-keeper, her children express concern that these candid volumes might be published posthumously, revealing secrets long buried.
Alex Berry's striking stage design features a slanted reflective ceiling that hangs over the action like memory's distorting mirror. Victoria describes her diaries as "the only place where I could be completely honest." However, Goodwin speculates that even this private refuge was compromised, as Albert would secretly read her entries, forcing their marital conflicts and resentments to remain unrecorded.
The Unraveling of a Royal Romance
Jessica Rhodes embodies a spirited young Victoria who springs from the diary pages, initially waltzing giddily with Albert. Rowan Polonski's portrayal of the prince reveals a character of lofty pique and amour-propre who quickly attempts to mould Victoria's character and suppress her natural joy. He keeps her frequently pregnant—much to her dismay, as she finds children "invincibly tedious"—and systematically usurps her royal responsibilities, including speech-writing, official papers, and tours of industrial Britain.
"He made the monarchy so boring that no one was awake enough to start a revolution," scoffs Victoria, highlighting her growing frustration. What begins as playful teasing evolves into psychological taunting; care transforms into control. Intimate moments on the sofa devolve into furious arguments over matters as trivial as Christmas presents, with Victoria exclaiming, "You gave me a brooch made of teeth, Albert!"
Coercion and Co-dependency in the Royal Household
The relationship depicted is unmistakably coercive, yet Goodwin suggests it may also have been co-dependent, with Victoria's own panic ensuring her continued obedience. A particularly revealing scene shows Victoria reading from Jane Eyre, signaling the gothic fate that Goodwin imagines Albert might have planned for his queen. This literary reference underscores the psychological imprisonment within their marriage.
While Goodwin's sympathies clearly align with Victoria, the play acknowledges Albert's dedication to public service—a quality modern audiences expect from royals, rather than merely funding their indulgences in novels and marrons glacés. Sophie Drake's fleet-footed direction skillfully navigates the play's inherent contradictions and repetitions, effectively unsettling the long-held myth of stodgy royal contentment.
Victoria: A Queen Unbound runs at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury until 9 May, offering a provocative exploration of power dynamics within one of history's most scrutinized marriages.
