Review: Diana, The Untold and Untrue Story

Thursday, 18th April 2024 at the King’s Head Theatre, London

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewer: Emma Dorfman

Amassing a cult following from its Edinburgh Fringe 2023 run, Diana, The Untold and Untrue Story solidifies Awkward Productions’ uniquely wacky and unhinged formula. As always, they manage to make the audience laugh until they cry through whatever means necessary. Enlisting audience members, virtual celebrities, and a demon-like puppet to tell this entirely untrue story, Linus Karp’s impeccable Diana is far from the most interesting character you will meet in this solo(ish) show.

We begin in heaven: a slew of bright clouds appears on the video screen on the back wall. ‘It is I, Lady Di,’ says a cool voice. Diana’s Mum and Diana’s Dad (two pre-selected audience participants) are then asked through onscreen text to enter the stage. The two then re-enact the ‘beginning’ of Diana, and Karp emerges not-so-sneakily from backstage through Diana’s Mum’s legs. And so, it all begins.

Just as he was the spitting image of Gwyneth Paltrow in ‘Gwyneth Goes Skiing’, Linus Karp is just as convincing as Lady Di. The hair? Perfectly parted. The doe-eyed look slightly downwards, the soft grace without really trying… all comes naturally to this performer. And the costumes are meticulously chosen. Inspiration has been drawn from famous Diana moments, such as the engagement announcement, the wedding (shoutout to the literally 100-foot-long train following Karp’s dress), and who can forget the revenge dress (which Karp also undoubtedly slays in)? 

For all the resemblance the costuming bears, as promised, the characters are anything but true to the original: Charles is a cardboard cutout on a stand with brown hair sown onto his head, Camilla is a large Raggedy-Ann style puppet, complete with stringy hair and a missing eye. Camilla’s personification- through both puppet (handled with energy and vigour by Joseph Martin) and a completely nonsensical, satanic voice- is probably the highlight of the show.

At one point, Diana imagines what went on behind closed doors with Charles and Camilla. What follows is perhaps the strangest of theatrical re-enactments, as a puppet and cardboard cutout ‘go at it’ in full force. In this performance, Camilla was forceful enough to split the cardboard Charles in two, creating a raucous moment that reminded me once again of the magic of live theatre. As always, this team finds a quick solution, and a spare Charles in the lobby was quickly subbed in.

Lady Di’s story takes a strange turn as well. Though her pathetic married life with Charles, the birth of her children, and her humanitarian accomplishments are, more or less, well-documented (‘Landmine’ makes a notable, albeit brief, cameo via an audience member), this time, we imagine what would have happened had Diana made it through that infamous tunnel in Paris unharmed.

All of it plays directly into our collective fascination toward Diana, asking what she would have accomplished had she lived, whether that’s in jest or no. Overall, it’s a celebration of a true icon in British popular culture and an excellent excuse to serve #lewks.

Diana, The Untold and Untrue Story is at the King’s Head Theatre until May 5th 2024 (tickets here), ahead of a further run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.