Review: BACKSTAIRS BILLY at The Duke of York's Theatre

 

Photo credit: Johan Persson 

Date: 8th November 2023 

Seat: E6

Tickets: Gifted

Rating: 4 Stars

Backstairs Billy, written by Marcelo dos Santos and directed by Michael Grandage, is the story of William ‘Billy’ Tallon who was the Queen Mother’s servant from the age of 15 until her death in 2002 – a span of 50 years or so. The play is set in 1979 when Billy has already been at work at Clarence House for 27 years and has just been promoted to Page of the Backstairs. 

This odd couple, him from Coventry and she as the former queen consort, shouldn’t work – they shouldn’t really have anything to do with one another – and yet a loving and deep friendship was formed over the years, and Backstairs Billy would do anything to protect his beloved queen. It’s this love and the joy Billy takes in it that sells the character; he has no ulterior motives; he simply adores his Queen. 

Backstairs Billy is, first and foremost a comedy, and it’s certainly amusing, with distinct elements of farce about it (whether it’s Billy pretending his one-night stand is an African Prince, trying to hide a phallic sculpture from the Queen Mother, or ‘accidentally’ serving gin instead of water to a couple of tee-totallers, we see a naughty playfulness in both the leads that gets the audience on side immediately). 

But there’s more than just simple comedy in this play. We’re also shown that both Billy and the Queen Mother are lonely souls – they need one another. When Princess Margaret’s note to say she won’t be coming for breakfast after all reaches Clarence House, the audience are as disappointed at the Queen Mother. 

We also get some lovely flashbacks to when a young Billy (Ilan Galkoff) first arrives at Clarence House, setting up the story of why he’s there, and giving the audience a glimpse into how a life in service has changed him. Is it for the better or the worse? All we know is that Billy wouldn’t change things for the world. 

Luke Evans as Billy is delightfully diva-ish, showing how the Page of the Backstairs’ flair for the dramatic had the tendency to overshadow his duties but never eclipse them entirely. He amused the Queen Mother and was her link to the outside world that had more or less forgotten about her by this point (something that Billy’s lover, Ian (Eloka Ivo), makes abundantly clear with his less-than-impressed view of being in Clarence House with the old lady), and here we can see how he did it, walking a very fine line and just about getting away with it. 

Yet it’s Penelope Wilton who steals the show in Backstairs Billy. She manages to make someone we’ve only ever seen from a distance and known from afar into someone we want to spend time with; someone we want to get to know more. She’s sweet and kind (but stern with it), and a little bit confused about where her life has taken her and how she’s ended up all alone, and Wilton’s performance tugs at the heartstrings even in the middle of the chaos going on all around. 

Part of that chaos includes real-life corgis. They run across the stage and sit, looking somewhat bewildered yet happy on Penelope Wilton’s lap, melting heats and enticing smiles. But they only appear a couple of times, and if I can suggest one improvement to Backstairs Billy, it would be: more corgis!

Backstairs Billy is a witty take on the royal household and the goings-on behind the scenes that most people would never be a part of, and the snappy one-liners come thick and fast, but it’s all tinged with a hint of sadness, and that’s what will stay with you long after the laughter stops.