WORLD PREMIERE UK TOUR OF DAISY GOODWIN’S BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT COMES TO LOWRY, SALFORD
Starring Anne Reid as Queen Elizabeth II and Caroline Quentin as The Dresser
Also featuring James Dreyfus and James Wilby
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole
Starring Anne Reid as Queen Elizabeth II and Caroline Quentin as The Dresser, Daisy Goodwin’s debut play By Royal Appointment is a funny, poignant and celebratory new play about the kind of power that only a Queen can wield. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole, By Royal Appointment concludes its world première UK tour at Lowry, Salford from Wednesday 6th to Saturday 9th August 2025.
Cast: Anne Reid (The Queen), Caroline Quentin (The Dresser), James Dreyfus (The Milliner), James Wilby (The Designer)
Directed by: Dominic Dromgoole; Designer: Jonathan Fensom; Lighting Designer: Oliver Fenwick; Sound design: Ella Wahlström
The late Queen Elizabeth II was famous for her discretion. She never said anything in public that could ruffle the lightest of feathers. But she had one way of expressing what she really thought – through her wardrobe.
By Royal Appointment is a funny, poignant and celebratory new play about the kind of power that only a Queen can wield – she charms the world through coats and admonishes her family through a carefully chosen hat.
But the Queen herself is uninterested in fashion, her look is managed by her Designer, her Milliner and most powerful of all, her Dresser who was a working-class girl who goes from advising the Queen on the colour of her lipsticks to the real power behind the throne. But the Dresser, like all royal favourites is living on borrowed time.
By Royal Appointment is a behind the scenes peek into the world of our most popular monarch and the image she presented to the world. Starring national treasure Anne Reid as The Queen, doyen of stage and screen Caroline Quentin as The Dresser, with Olivier award-winning James Dreyfus as The Milliner and Merchant Ivory and Poldark legend James Wilby as The Designer. The new play is written by Daisy Goodwin who created the hit ITV series Victoria and directed by former Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe, Dominic Dromgoole.
By Royal Appointment is Daisy Goodwin’s debut play. For television, her writing credits include ITV historical drama series Victoria. Her novels include The Last Duchess, The Fortune Hunter, The American Heiress, Victoria and Diva, she has curated eight poetry anthologies. Also, as a producer, her many credits include Grand Designs and Escape to the Country.
By Royal Appointment comes to Lowry, Salford from Wednesday 6th to Saturday 9th August 2025. For more information and tickets, visit www.thelowry.com.