Is there anything more spectacular than having Dame Helen Mirren (67) swear at you – while dressed as The Queen?
A troupe of drummers outside the John Gielgud Theatre found out firsthand on Saturday when they got a royal telling-off – thanks to Mirren.
According to The London Telegraph, the actress was on stage in the award-winning play The Audience portraying Queen Elizabeth II, when a group of drummers made so much noise outside the theatre that it was getting hard to ignore.
What’s a Dame to do? Address them of course – in full costume, complete with a tiara:
“I was so upset from struggling through [a] scene…that I literally walked straight off stage, straight up the stairs and straight out the stage door and banged my way through the crowd who were watching and said “stop, you’ve got to stop right now” – only I might have used stronger language than that. I felt rotten, but on the other hand they were destroying our performance so something had to be done.” Mirren told the paper.
Mirren also said that she used some colourful language, not befitting a Queen:
“I’m afraid there were a few ‘thespian’ words used, they got a very stern royal ticking off, but I have to say they were very sweet and they stopped immediately.”
The drummers were there to promote the “As One in the Park” festival for gay and transgender people set to take place later in May. Mark McKenzie, who organized the drummers’ parade, had this to say:
“Not much shocks you on the gay scene. But seeing Helen Mirren dressed as The Queen cussing and swearing and making you stop your parade – that’s a new one.”
All’s well that ends well however. The drummers stopped and Mirren told The London Telegraph that she would like to track them down and invite them to see the play, referring to the drummers as “fellow performers.”
But the last words must belong to Mirren’s co-star, David Wright who plays Prime Minister David Cameron. He joined Mirren outside when she told off the drummers and later tweeted:
“You should have seen Helen. Honestly. It was breathtaking.”
Can you imagine???
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