Review: Queen of the Empire at Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham

“…a wild ride…delivered in a pitch-perfect way…”

Queen of the Empire by Sasha Snowdon, Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham

By Kay Wilson

Queen of the Empire had its debut as part of the Durham Fringe Festival, and what an impressive start to this moving and powerful play’s journey.

Written and performed solely by the Saltburn actress, Sasha Snowdon, it begins with the main character, Lizzie, bursting onto the stage, dancing and really letting her hair down. We then see her getting ready in a typical young woman’s bedroom. There are clothes strewn across the floor and make-up and dating dilemmas to be sorted out.

Lizzie is going to hit Middlesbrough’s nightclub scene and her favourite spot is the Empire of the play’s title. She is a larger than life character, drinking straight from a bottle, never a glass, and on the lookout for fun with her friends and a possible Tinder date with Joe. The audience is Lizzie’s confessional platform and this performance is so assured she reminds me of the famous Fleabag – if she had a younger sister from Teesside.

Wild-drinking, puking and feeling rough set the scene, with a hint of something darker to come, when there are a number of missed and ignored calls from Lizzie’s mother. There is a tragedy looming in the family and Lizzie is tested. The audience are left in no doubt that her character’s arc could go one of two ways, although you are always rooting for this lovable, party girl.

Sasha Snowdon comes to her one-woman play with an impressive pedigree and absolutely delivers a performance which nails every emotion. She has such energy that the lines built to encourage audience participation were successful and went down well. They were spellbound for the whole show, and these lighter parts were quite a welcome relief to the more tense scenes.

Her talent is such that she plays a range of characters from her mother, to friends and even a nightclub bouncer, with consummate ease. In fact, she switches parts so deftly that, in the blink of an eye, you are convinced she is several people.

The set for this play is very clever and, although pared right back, it hits the mark with every scene. This is no mean feat when it involves anything from a busy nightclub to a hospital bedroom. It is also helped by Sasha’s charismatic, central performance which helps your imagination build the location in your own head.

One of the strengths of the piece is the writing, which shines throughout, dropping hilarious one-liners then switching to dialogue so moving it made me cry – not just in the theatre but also on the way to the car park.

There is also so much in the play which is relatable, in particular, conversations with medical professionals which are hard for Lizzie to understand. The writing in those scenes manages to be insightful and funny, which is no mean feat. Full credit to Jess Robson for directing the play in a way which allows the performance and writing to shine throughout.

Queen of the Empire is even more impactful as it is based on a true story about Sasha Snowdon’s family and the play’s portrayal of a particular illness has the blessing of the blood cancer charity DKMS.

Queen of the Empire is on at the Durham Assembly Rooms on Thursday, 30 July, and then at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It is strongly recommended for a wild ride through so many emotions delivered in a pitch-perfect way.

Queen of the Empire plays at Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham until 30 July. Tickets are available here.

Kay Wilson is a North East-based writer. She won Runner-Up in the Self-Published category at the Comedy Women in Print awards for her debut novel, The Stand-Up Mam. It was inspired by her own experience of performing comedy for two years and charts the adventures of a perfect mother who does stand-up. It transforms her but blows up family life. Described as ‘hilarious and heart-warming’, signed copies can be bought at The Bound bookshop, Whitley Bay. The novel is also available on Amazon here. Kay has a website which promotes extraordinary women and gives updates on her writing life.