Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story @ Pleasance Dome

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story brings a campy, chaotic interpretation of Lady Diana’s history to life, delivered straight from heaven. The show is overflowing with irony, hilarity, and queerness, and is a joyful watch from beginning to end.

The show itself is expertly crafted. Before we begin, whilst everyone is taking their seats, some members of the audience are handed cards that assign them roles, instructing them that there will be lines of dialogue to read out at some unknown point during the show. This idea is inspired, creating an air of excitement and anticipation amongst the audience whilst ensuring their full consent and enthusiasm. What ensues is an hour of tongue-in-cheek storytelling that is royally funny. 

Linus Karp is unfalteringly poised and demure as Diana, with a comically doe-eyed demeanour that feels effortless. His parody is playful yet understated, producing a ‘holier than thou’ attitude that is incredibly entertaining to watch. It must be acknowledged that there is little-to-no risk of offending Diana fans, as the storytelling is blissfully outlandish and Karp satirises all of the characters in equal measure. He plays on the extremities of public opinion formed over the years in response to Diana’s life, such as the demonisation of Camilla Parker-Bowles and the deification of Lady Di. Exaggerating famous quotations and making brilliant use of a sad, model-like stare, Karp crafts a brand new, flamboyant realisation of The People’s Princess. If Diana were reborn, it is what we would all wish her to be.

We firmly believe that Lady Di would have loved Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story. Complete with a (former) Prince Charles cardboard cut-out, original queer club music, and visitations from famous faces that we know and love, the show is a complete knockout that will leave you strongly identifying as a friend of Di.

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Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, Pleasance Dome (King Dome), until 28 Aug, £14-16