Winchester stages unique event to mark Queen’s birthday
A unique event starring actors Tim Pigott-Smith and Dame Sian Phillips will be staged at the Guildhall in Winchester on Sunday 24 April to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday.
The Royal Throne is a re-creation of significant moments in the history of the Crown, through the words of some of the Queen’s predecessors and writers ranging from Shakespeare to Jane Austen and Horace Walpole to William Makepeace Thackeray. The performance will also feature some less serious views in the vein of 1066 And All That.
The recital is compiled and produced by local writer John Miller and features two stars of stage and screen, Tim Pigott-Smith and Dame Sian Phillips.
John Miller said:
I am pleased that Winchester is celebrating such a special occasion, and delighted that two of my favourite actors have agreed to come and perform this recital.
Tim Pigott-Smith has just completed a much-acclaimed run on Broadway in King Charles III, playing our future King, and Sian Phillips was created a Dame in the New Year’s Honours List. She is currently starring in Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry at the National Theatre.
I have worked with both of them on various shows, and look forward with great anticipation to hearing them re-create some very different monarchs – from Richard II, Henry VIII, Charles I and George VI, to Anne Boleyn, Victoria, and both Elizabeth I and II.
The performance is presented by Guildhall Winchester and Winchester City Council in the Bapsy Hall at the Guildhall on Sunday 24 April 2016. Doors open at 7pm
Tickets are £10 (£8 for students with a valid NUS card) and are available from the Tourist Information Centre, Winchester Guildhall and www.seetickets.com
For more information please contact 01962 840500/840820 or visit www.guildhallwinchester.co.uk
The Queen’s 90th birthday will see her become the longest-serving monarch in British history. Winchester will also mark the occasion when the Cathedral holds a special service attended by the Lord Lieutenant in the afternoon of 24 April.