CHICAGO – In the last several years, how many times have you wanted to shout the “Mad as Hell” movie quote? Well, Invictus Theatre Co. has produced a stage adaptation of “Network” – with that quote shout worthy – at the Windy City Playhouse in Chicago through September 29th. For tickets/details, click HOWARD BEALE.
Emily Blunt is the Girl Who Would Be Queen in ‘The Young Victoria’
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CHICAGO – One of the functions of royalty seems to be an expected adoration from the peasants. Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend and Paul Bettany offer their interpretation on a monarch’s origins with “The Young Victoria.”
Emily Blunt is Queen Victoria, who ruled the British Isles from 1837 to 1901. This narrative is about her younger days, when a swarthy rake named Albert (Rupert Friend) wooed the young Vicky and would eventually become her husband. In the meantime, the political machinations threaten to undermine her fledging reign, and the factors of family and background advisers weigh into that equation.
This is the young Victoria as both a poor little rich girl and harbinger of circumstances. She is lonely in the vast caverns of the opulent palaces, and must face the propriety of her eventual rise to the throne. As a teenager, she is shown rejecting the policies of a political enemy, establishing that this pretty and educated princess will not kowtow to the power mongers that surround her.
![]() Photo credit: © 2009 Apparition |
The would-be Prince Albert, at the same time, is trying to find his way as lover. It is he who detects the fiery side of Victoria and directs his affections toward that nature. They build a bond based on their mutual sense of social justice and – let’s face it – Emily looks quite fetching in her royal finery.
This is a sometimes too deliberate retelling of the saga. Although the settings and opulence of a royal girl of the early 19th century are meticulously represented, they do also stand in the way of a deeper understanding of Victoria’s responsibilities and plight. There is a Masterpiece Theater quality about the proceedings, but only in the recreative setting-and-clothing sense, not of the humanity of the period.
Emily Blunt and her supporting cast take on the gravity and importance of the characters with too-few glances into their vulnerable sides. But Blunt is perfect in the role, she seems to have perspective on Victoria’s difficulties and she handles the lonely aspect of the character up and through her rise as the most powerful leader of the Western World. She is particularly effective when Victoria finally defies her mother and protectors – there is a weight and energy released that is totally relatable.
Rupert Friend, as Prince Albert, provides a take into how different a young man of a certain station had to act – remember he was just 17 years old when he began to court his cousin Victoria. His dashing princely forthrightness is never broken by the giddy immaturity of adolescence, although there was an amusing sequence where his companion seems to be goading him during a visit with Vicky. He has a sense of who he is and what he is about to achieve. Lucky there were no iPods to distract him.
![]() Photo credit: © 2009 Apparition |
The background characters function as set pieces around Victoria, to varying degrees of effect. Her mother (Miranda Richardson) is portrayed as one-note angry, but does contribute in bringing her princess daughter to maturation. Paul Bettany – who has played a number of wild men in his career – is virtually unrecognizable as the sedate William Lamb, a close advisor to Victoria.
The pièce de résistance as far as character acting is concerned actually involved a documented incident in Young Victoria’s life. The great Jim Broadbent gets to emote as King William IV, dressing down V’s mother is an uncomfortable confrontation. The scene says as much about family as it does the royal reality of these lofty perches.
With its settings and costumes, The Young Victoria is pleasing to the senses. The strength of Emily Blunt’s performance carries the picture to the optimistic end. But there was a somewhat super heroic quality to Victoria and Albert that felt a bit like cardboard. It is lucky that in many royal costumes, a cape is added. With the proper wind and an appropriate pose, Prince Albert and Queen Victoria are here to save the day.
![]() | By PATRICK McDONALD |