Cultural depictions of Anne, Queen of Great Britain

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Anne, Queen of Great Britain, has been depicted in novels, film and television.

Contents

Literature

Anne is a character in the 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo, and the 1912 novel The White Gauntlet, by Percy James Brebner. [1] The 2016 novel What if the Queen Should Die, by John-Paul Flintoff, is about the last days of her life. [2] Anne is also the protagonist of the short story "The Emancipation of Mrs. Morley" (1935) by Clemence Dane. [3]

Theatre

Anne is a character in the play Le Verre d'eau (1840), by Eugène Scribe. [4] The titular play Queen Anne , written by the playwright Helen Edmundson, dramatizes the relationship between Anne and Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, as well as the court politics and succession issues of Anne's court. It was first produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between November, 2015 and January, 2016, before opening at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London, where it ran between June and September 2017. [5] [6]

Television

Anne is played by Margaret Tyzack in the 1969 BBC television serial The First Churchills . [7] Elizabeth Spriggs portrayed her in the 2004 BBC drama documentary Wren: The Man Who Built Britain . Jodhi May depicted Queen Anne in the 2024 historical fantasy series Renegade Nell . [8]

Film

Anne was portrayed on screen by Anna Kallina in the 1921 Austrian silent adaptation Das grinsende Gesicht of Hugo's novel, and by Josephine Crowell in the 1928 silent adaptation. She is also a character in the play Le Verre d'eau by Eugène Scribe; Gunnel Lindblom portrayed her in the 1960 Swedish TV adaptation of Scribe's play Ett Glas vatten; Liselotte Pulver in the 1960 West German film adaptation Das Glas Wasser , Judit Halász in the 1977 Hungarian TV adaptation Sakk-matt, and Natalya Belokhvostikova in the 1979 Soviet film adaptation Stakan vody (Стакан воды). In the 1984 comedy Yellowbeard she was played by Peter Bull (in his last film role) as a fat, senile woman, dominated by Sarah Churchill.

Anne was portrayed by Olivia Colman in the 2018 film The Favourite , which centres on the competition for the Queen's affection between Sarah Churchill and Abigail Masham. [9] For her portrayal of the monarch, Colman won numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actress.

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<i>A Glass of Water</i> (1960 film) 1960 film

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Lucy Bailey is a British theatre director, known for productions such as Baby Doll at Britain's National Theatre and a notorious Titus Andronicus, described by a critic as "all eye-catchingly visceral but there’s little depth". Bailey founded the Gogmagogs theatre-music group (1995–2006) and was Artistic Director and joint founder of the Print Room theatre in West London (2010-2012). She has worked extensively with Bunny Christie and other leading stage designers, including her husband William Dudley.

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Queen Anne is a 2015 play by the British playwright Helen Edmundson on the life of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. It is set between just before her accession in 1702 and her husband George's death in 1708 and centres on the relationship between Anne and her close friend Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, by whom Anne was heavily influenced in the period before and during her reign.

<i>The Favourite</i> 2018 film by Yorgos Lanthimos

The Favourite is a 2018 satirical absurdist period dark comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, and written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. A co-production between Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the film stars Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz. Set in early 18th century Great Britain, it examines the relationship between cousins Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and Abigail Hill, who will become Baroness Masham as the action progresses, as they vie to be court favourite of Queen Anne.

The Glass of Water: or, Effects and Causes is an 1840 five-act stage comedy by the French writer Eugène Scribe that is set at the court of Queen Anne of Great Britain during the early 18th century. It premiered at the Théâtre-Français in Paris on 17 November 1840 and has been translated into several languages, including into German in 1841 by Alexander Cosmar.

References

  1. Baker, Ernest A., A Guide to Historical Fiction. London : G. Routledge and Sons, 1914.(pgs. 144, 281)
  2. "Review: Better Than Gold by Theresa Tomlinson", Review by Cassandra Clark. Historical Novel Society. February 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. Michael Cox and Jack Adrian, The Oxford Book of Historical Stories. Oxford;Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN   9780192142191 (p.436).
  4. Arvin, Neil Cole. Eugène Scribe and the French Theatre, 1815-1860. Harvard University Press, 1924 (pg. 147)
  5. "Queen Anne | Royal Shakespeare Company | Theatre". Rsc.org.uk. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  6. "Queen Anne | Royal Shakespeare Company". www.rsc.org.uk.
  7. "The First Churchills (1971)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  8. Renegade Nell Cast & Character Guide: Where You've Seen The Actors Before . Moser, Zachery, Screen Rant , June 30, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  9. Kohn, Eric (3 September 2018). "Yorgos Lanthimos on the Lesbian Love Triangle of 'The Favourite': 'I Didn't Want This to Become an Issue'". IndieWire . Retrieved 3 September 2018.