Revu Queen of the Empire

“Queen of the Empire” Poster

A reaffirming close to home story: Queen of the Empire

Sasha Snowdon’s Lizzie comes on stage belting, club music playing, the base almost breaking the speaker. We’re in Empire, the best club in Middlesbrough. She tells us its the best night out in the world - and she also tells us she is wearing her sister’s dress, and that she is not speaking to her mother.

Queen of the Empire is performed in a distinctly casual and down to earth way, Lizzie always feels like she is chatting with us, like we are in a universal club smoking area and that she is giving us good gossip. It always feels natural without ever feeling rambling or bloated and the fact Snowdon can keep this up for the full production is a testament to her abilities. A fantastic sequence ensues in which she teaches the audience the “Slutty Macarena” which is most definitely a highlight of Queen of the Empire and where the production feels the most fun. Again, Snowdon commands the room and despite Liz’s intentional rough and ready nature, the production feels slick.

It is later revealed that Lizzie’s sister is sick and her sickness hangs over the rest of the play, informing many of Liz’s decisions and how she acts - whether she knows it or not. Drawing upon her own experiences, Sasha brings the audience’s on Lizzie’s journey well, treating its subject matter with the utmost care and respect.

At times, the various characters that Snowdown multiroles do not feel as distinct as they could, blending together at times and creating momentary confusion within the plot. The use of further physicality or props or costume would greatly aid this. Furthermore, the loose pieces of costume that line the stage feel hardly interacted with and act as set dressing when they could be used for more. As well as this, and perhaps due to the constraints of the run time, more time with Lizzie’s sister or simply more of her in general would also hammer home the emotional heart of the show and make it even more effective. 

But as it stands, Queen of the Empire dresses itself as the story of a girl clubbing when in reality it is far, far deeper.

Tickets can be found here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/queen-of-the-empire

3/5 Stars

By Ethan H.M.M