Dame Helen Mirren in 'The Audience'

Saturday evening I attended the opening night performance of The Audience on Broadway. The Audience is a new play written by Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Daldry. The play tells the story of the weekly private audiences Queen Elizabeth II has given to her 12 Prime Ministers over the past 60 years. The lead role of Queen Elizabeth is played by the acclaimed English actress of stage and screen, Dame Helen Mirren. She is no stranger to portraying Elizabeth Windsor, having done so on stage in 'The Queen', and of course the Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated film production of that play.

The play is a fictional representation of the weekly private audiences Queen Elizabeth II has given to her Prime Ministers, as no one truly knows what is discussed between the PM of the day and Her Majesty. However, over the years many British Prime Ministers have referenced the enormous value of having a trusted confidant with no political aspirations or motives in whom to seek advice or speak ones mind. It is a unique system unparalleled in modern government today. In particular, as the present queen's reign has spanned 60 years (and counting), there is virtually no one in government anywhere-- with such a unique perspective of time.  It is well known that the Queen takes genuine interest in matters of state and is exceptionally well informed regarding affairs of her British and Commonwealth nations. These private audiences, are the subject of this play.

The play masterfully crosses time of Elizabeth's reign, switching

back and forth between various ages of the Queen as she met with her Prime Ministers. The playwright does an excellent job imagining of how the newly ascended young Queen adapted and learned her role, asserting herself from the very start with Winston Churchill. While she had no experience in her first meeting, she was led by a deep belief in the sacred position as Sovereign.

Helen Mirren is superb; seamlessly shifting time, with remarkable full costume and wig changes--on stage, to emerge as a younger or older Queen before our eyes. The transitions between the various 12 PM's was far more than a mere change of supporting characters. Mirren takes the Broadway theatre audience into these private meetings with such skill, that you are drawn into the private meetings as if a fly on the wall.  Along some of the PM's conversations, at times there was a sense of desperation, baring their souls like school boys...a cathartic 20 minute meeting of sorts. It would have been unlike any other person in which they could confide with such sincerity. The Audience does a brilliant job with several PM's in particular-- those whose initial meetings were viewed with contempt, and later realized the enormous value and eventually grew fond of the Sovereign. Others remained cool and distant throughout. The author presents the viewer with the notion that Tony Blair was not one of Her Majesty's favorite ministers. A few subtle social commentaries may have been made by the author, but they did not distract from the play itself, and were quite amusing. While the Queen is constitutionally obligated to provide her support to all of her PM's she finds a way to make her views know without actually saying anything. It is a remarkable skill indeed.

Admittedly I am somewhat of an Anglophile and student of the British politics, so this play had enormous appeal to me. However, even without any knowledge of history of the 12 British Prime Ministers represented in this play, it is very entertaining. While Mirren is clearly the star of this production, it is truly an exceptionally talented ensemble cast who, in total make this a fine Broadway play of the day.

The PM's were from various parts of England and Scotland, and therefore the actors spoke with the appropriate accent, or played the  true person's manner of speaking flawlessly. The actors portraying Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill and Harold Wilson in particular seemed spot-on with the pitch, cadence of speaking and vocal style. The Broadway theatre was remarkably silent, as the largely American audience strained to understand some of the British accents. I overheard a few patrons saying they had trouble understanding some of the dialogue. Perhaps because I have spent a lot of time in the UK and watching the BBC that I had no difficulty whatsoever. 

This is a strictly limited engagement, so if you can get tickets to see The Audience, I highly recommend you do so while you can!

HM The Queen's Christmas Broadcast

The Queen's Christmas Broadcast. Nicely done, Ma'am.

Queen Elizabeth II Christmas Broadcast 2011

Merry Christmas to all:

Queen Elizabeth's Christmas Broadcast 2010

Tweet

Queen Elizabeth II Annual Christmas Message

Message from Her Sovereign Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

A Message to the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

"In light of your declining failure to handle your economy and govern yourselves, We hereby give notice of the revocation of your Independence, effective immediately.(if necessary,look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will now resume monarchical duties over all states, Commonwealths, and territories (except Utah, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, the same one who is our Prime Minister, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. To aid in the return of your country to the status of a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:"

1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will now spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (if necessary, look up 'vocabulary' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

2. There is no such thing as U.S. English. English is the language we speak. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'

3. July 4th will be celebrated as a holiday in order to acknowledge the end of your unsuccessful 250 year experiment in independence.

4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready yet to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or spending hours with a therapist,then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side of the road with immediate effect. Using roundabouts while you learn to drive on the left may help you understand the British sense of humour.

7. At the same time, all your forms of measurement will go metric with immediate effect. We had to do it 20 years ago and we discovered that it works better than the old imperial system anyway. However because your monetary system is already metric (you got that bit right) you will be permitted to maintain the dollar as your form of currency. We may however decide to brighten up those dull old green and black notes were some exciting new spring colours.

8. Speaking of money however you will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been mistakenly calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. Australian beer is also acceptable, as (based on their rather small population) they are the greatest sporting nation on earth and this can only be due to something they put in their beer. They are also still a part of the British Commonwealth - see what it has done for them. American beer-type drinks will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that they can be sold without risk of further confusion until you get used to drinking proper beer.

10. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having One's Royal ears removed with a cheese grater.

11. You will cease playing that game that you call American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you (mistakenly) call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to hold an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

13. You must tell us who killed JR. It's been driving us mad.

14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

15. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed with vinegar not with tomato sauce (which you mistakenly call catsup) .

16. Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. Daily with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits ( which you mistakenly refer to as cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

-Elizabeth R

A Bit of Royal News

This is old news now, but if you don't regularly read world news and such, you may have missed the annual opening of British Parliament on December 3rd. Queen Elizabeth II opened Parliament for the 56th time in her reign, leading a ceremony with over 500 years of tradition and history. Admittedly I am a bit of an Anglophile and have always enjoyed all the pomp and circumstance, so this is stuff I enjoy sharing. The videos below are a little long, but I find them both interesting. If nothing else, its a nice diversion from all the nonsense in the news of late.

above left: The procession leading to the Palace of Westminster is quite extensive. Her Majesty arrives in the State Coach, drawn by four grey horses. Above right: The Queen reads the speech to the Lords and members of the House of Commons.

above: even in her advanced age, The Queen still looks great. Of course, all the diamonds do help. above right: The Queen's jewels, including the Imperial State Crown (which she wears to open Parliament), are priceless and are stored in a heavily guarded room in the Tower of London. Check out this (long but) interesting video about the opening of Parliament:

And here below is Queen Elizabeth delivering her speech to open Parliament. It's a bit of a yawn-fest, but check it out for a spell:

Well, I hope you weren't too bored by all this. I'll post The Queen's Christmas message on December 25th, so she'll make another appearance here again soon. Have a great Thursday.

-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: British Royalty

The Sunday Art Review resumes after a brief hiatus during my recent worldwide travels. Inspired by my time spent in England, the theme of this week's Sunday Art Review is British Royalty. Perhaps one of my all time favorite paintings is this one of a young Queen Elizabeth II, by Pietro Annigoni. Painted in 1960, this work famously reflected the optimism of the new Elizabethan era and the promise that a youthful monarch brought to her subjects. This image was also used in a number of official government publications, including use on the British currency (pound), although her image on the currency has since been updated several times to reflect her current age.

above: another portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth II

above: Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is Consort to Queen Elizabeth II

above: a more recent portrait, from 2007

above: King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II

above: Elizabeth, the Queen Consort to King George VI. She was also known as the Queen Mum, mother of Queen Elizabeth II

above: King George V, father of George VI and grandfather to Queen Elizabeth II

above: Queen Victoria, great-great grandmother to the Queen Elizabeth II

above: Queen Elizabeth I the last monarch from the Tudor dynasty. She was no direct relation to Elizabeth II, who is from the House of Windsor.

I hope you enjoyed this week's Sunday Art Review of British Royalty.

-Rick Rockhill

Rick's Roadshow: The Sportsman's Show

As I mentioned yesterday, last week Rick's Roadshow was a business trip in Seattle. The primary purpose of the trip was to attend a Sportsman’s show (fishing, hunting, camping, etc). Before I go any further, I should state that a) I hate fishing; and find it incredibly boring beyond belief, b) I have little-to-no desire for hunting. (I actually do know how to fire a shotgun, but even the idea of standing around shooting clay pigeons seems strange.) And: c) Camping seems like torture. My idea of camping is spending a night at The Ritz-Carlton or The Four Seasons, not in an RV camper (just a personal preference there, don't anyone get offended).
Did Someone Say Camping?

above: Where would you rather camp out for the night?
Dressing the Part
Since this was my first Sportsman's show, I decided to immerse myself into the goings-on and learn as much as possible. I had carefully planned what to wear: a classic casual winter look from Brooks Brothers seemed just the right approach, I thought. Rich amber-colored corduroy pants, a burgundy plaid shirt and a navy blue cable knit sweater. I completed the look with a new pair of glasses with Brooks Brothers frames. I looked as though I was spending a weekend at Balmoral Castle in Scotland to watch a fox hunt with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. As I approached the entrance to the show grounds, I immediately realized I had grossly miscalculated the crowd and was a tad bit overdressed. In fact it was a sea of blue jeans, timberland boots, and hunting gear or hats emblazoned with logos. Now don't misunderstand me, I am not insinuating anything about the crowd-I met some nice folks who were very interesting. But let's just say I stuck out like a sore thumb. Luckily, I found a navy blue windbreaker to throw on whcih made me feel more comfortable. Ever the diplomat, I managed to assimilate as much as possible and adopted a folksy manner of speech which deflected unspoken questions about me. At least twice I was asked if I were a Democrat or Republican, which I thought was an interesting opening question from a stranger.

Going Hog Wild...What a Boar!
Once inside, I made my way through the expedition hall visiting the booths with every imaginable item you would need to hunt, fish or camp. I’ve never been one for blood sports, but I personally don’t have a problem with hunting as a sport, as long as it is regulated. While at first it was a little unsettling seeing all the animal heads mounted in the taxidermy booths, they really didn’t bother me at all. I am a happy carnivore, but as far as I know, meat comes from those nice little plastic trays in the grocery store. I did see some photos and a video of what hunters do after the hunt is finished. And that was gross. I was strangely fascinated yet repulsed at the same time. I decided to compartmentalize those images neatly in a little box back in my mind and swore never to subject myself to seeing it again.

The business purpose for me attending was related to all the dogs at the show. There are many “working” dog breeds whose instinct tells them how to assist their master in a variety of sporting activities. And with this comes dog training, supplies and specialized foods to boost a dog’s performance while “working”. That was where I fit in.

Dog Training Seminar

above: Famous dog trainer Dan Mar conducts a seminar at the Sportsman's show on obedience and hunting dog training. He is the only trainer to ever place three dogs four times at the Vizsla Club of America National Championship (2005). His appearance was sponsored by Natural Balance Pet Foods, one of my vendors. His training philosophy is centered around positive reinforcement and showing love to the dog.

A Good Time Was Had By All

The show was an eye-opener for me, but I have to admit that I enjoyed myself immensely and learned a lot. But don’t expect me to buy a camper or a gun anytime soon. I’ll stick with the Ritz-Carlton and dinner procured and prepared by a chef.

-Rick Rockhill

Merry Christmas!

Last night we had dinner at Melvyn's, the legendary Palm Springs restaurant at The Inglesde Inn. We had a marvelous corner table in the back dining salon. It was a terrific Christmas Eve.

Before dinner we stopped by the home of our friends Bud and Doug for a pre-dinner cocktail. Here is Bud looking rather civilized in his smoking jacket and ascot!









HM Queen Elizabeth II has graciously provided a copy of her Annual Christmas message.