The Last of the Duchess review, Hampstead

Sometimes you see a play and you're lost for an opinion. The Last of the Duchess is one such. Richard Eyre's direction is impeccable. The set's great. Sheila Hancock is on top form as Maitre Suzanne Blum, the ferocious French lawyer who was gatekeeper to the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, as her life ebbed away behind the doors of her Paris home. Anna Chancellor as the writer Caroline Blackwood, on whose book the play is based, is ever brilliant.

French lesions

The play looks at Blackwood's attempt as a Sunday Times writer, to uncover details of Wallis Simpson's bad health and to pursue suspicions of dishonesty by her staff - led by Blum who held power of attorney. It's charming and watchable, but it's theatrical wallpaper unless you have strong memories of, or an interest in, the Windsors. The story is specific to time and place, and even within that specificity it is an interlude. 

Of the three short acts, the second is the most engaging. A stumbling but sparky Angela Thorne makes an entertaining appearance as Diana Mosley. Her razor sharp eyes note the pieces going missing from the shelves as Blum secretly raises funds, ostensibly for Simpson's medical bills. In the third act the gloves come off. Blum and Blackwood abandon drawing room protocols and declare war. The final five minutes provide the main dramatic tension of the evening.

In conclusion: The Last of the Duchess is like a watching a good edition of Hello magazine being acted out on stage. There is nothing to criticise: it's just that the play doesn't add anything, either as a drama or as history.

References
Hampstead Theatre buy tickets
Michael Billington review, The Guardian


Hampstead Theatre is on Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London NW3 3EU. This production is now closed.