Terry has found himself, after a distinguished career in the secret service, with his toughest job yet. To guard and watch over Queen Elizabeth the Second. To keep her safe from not only external threats, but from her family as well. The Queen, who seems to be going a little mad in her old age, claims she is going to reinvent her legacy. To make England great again, and find out all the juicy gossip her government won’t tell her.

This is where the play begins and what follows is a chaotic flurry of goings on. Heads of state are poisoned, members of the royal family keep having accidents. And someone is murdering people using Shakespeare’s plays as inspiration. The Queen seems mixed up in it all and therefore so is Terry. Will Terry be able to diffuse the situation in time? Will he remain loyal to his Queen or to his country?

Written by Manawatu born writer and Bruce Mason Playwright award winner David Geary, QEIII Black Betty draws on various tropes including spy thrillers and serial killer movies. The result is a chaotic thriller with many Shakespeare references for the audience to identify along the way.

The actors do an amazing job with this piece. It is incredibly, almost unbelievably fast-paced with actors changing constantly, both between characters and within the personality of each character.

Andrew Paterson does the majority of the character changes, playing all the secondary characters. Firstly Hazel, Terry’s wife, who has a love hate relationship with her husband and, perhaps, ulterior motives. Then Lint, head of security, and Terry’s boss. He is not sure who’s side Terry is on, or if he is on a side at all. Andrew also pays Shakespeare in all his murderous glory. Andrew does a great job at switching between characters. With each being different and fully formed. You always know which character you are watching. A great performance all round.

Simon Leary is brilliant as the long-suffering secret agent Terry (with a Cameo as Prince Charles): a perfect foil for Kathleen Burns’ Queen. He can switch from being lovable to dangerous, without breaking a sweat. Kathleen Burns, QEII/QEIII, is glorious in her portrayal of the monarch. Funny, clever and cunning. She knows just how to win her audience (or bodyguard) over. Her performance has a deep physicality to it, changing throughout the play to fit the scene or mood. 

The set is a wonderful pop art homage, made by Harvey Taylor and Grace Newton, with two full moons (or gun sights) which prove pivotal to the telling of the story. Events that happen offstage are presented to the audience through live action projections which fit perfectly with the silly, yet clever feel of the play. A pile of TVs in the centre of the stage also add to the atmosphere, and help set different ‘stages’ or the passing of time. The AV design work for this show was done by Grace Newton. The operational part of the set is simple: a few boxes, a bench and a table. The actors make ultimate use of these to keep up with the pace of the script. The result is seamless and very clever.

The production is slick and technically challenging. Operator Belle Harrison keeps up with the fast pace of the actors, flicking between lighting changes, projections, sound and physical props. The lighting, designed by Rachel Lenart, is deceptively simple, but adds so much to the overall feel of the production.

The director, Alex Wilson, has done a great job of organising the chaos, creating a fun, fresh-feeling world for the play. This play is bonkers, a lot of fun, very funny. You never quite know where you stand or what is happening but it’s very enjoyable nonetheless. Best to just sit back and enjoy the show. 

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