Review of Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, Fringe 2024

Having seen Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story for the first time at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, and it quickly becoming one of my favourite things I’d ever seen in my life, I knew I’d have to come back when I found out it was only on for a week this year.

Also, as I pointed out in my recent review of Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho, alternate timeline drag cabarets seem to be an emerging genre, and I’m 100% here for it. Matt Tedford may have started it, but Linus Karp and Joseph Martin of Awkward Productions are taking it forward with this show, and also with Gwyneth Goes Skiing.

Anyway, that’s by the by, so on with the review!

The vibe

I actually managed to get a photo of the Royal Name Generator this time, which is what the audience are greeted with as they pile into the packed auditorium. Mine is still ‘Angelic Queen Consort of Herpes’, by the way.

I’m putting this here because it sets the tone for the rest of the show quite well, as we sit back and let Diana tell her completely made up story through the magic of theatre, puppetry, and random members of the audience who’ve been given character cards.

I’m happy to say the vibe is just as bizarre and unhinged as the first time I watched this show, and had the audience (and myself) belly laughing throughout.

The show itself

Lady Di is born a demure fully-grown woman who emerges in a girlish pink dress on her hands and knees between the legs of the audience member who plays her mother (but insists she’s ‘a baby’). It only gets funnier and more bizarre from there.

We then follow her as she meets and quickly gets married to Charles (basically a cardboard cut out of our present king but with actual brown hair stuck to his head with glue).

Dear Reader, when the light shines on him at the right angle, you can see the spot on his face where he’s been kissed on stage by our heroine countless times now.

Diana is faced with challenges such as dealing with the demonic Camilla, having the Queen as a mother-in-law, and telling landmines just where to go.

It may sound like this is a familiar story for anyone who’s been following the British royal family, but actually, it’s so much better, funnier, and has some real feel-good moments along the way.

Yes, that’s right; Awkward Productions has re-written the story of Lady Di so she gets the life she deserves.

My favourite parts of this show are a) when the audience has to play paparazzi and are encouraged to take out their phones and snap photos of vulnerable Princess Diana with our flashes on, b) the musical dance lipsync number at the end, expertly performed by Linus c) what happens when Diana approaches the infamous tunnel.

There’s also one of my new favourite songs, which goes ‘You’re a friend of Di, you’re a friend of Di, whether gay, trans or a bi‘. Bravo!

This is the feel-good, LGBTQIA+ positive show where we get to rewrite history, at least for an hour, and revel in Karp’s Diana being the killer diva she was always meant to be!

Overall

I had a fabulous time at the riotously funny Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, and believe this is the story of Diana we all deserve. Still one of my fringe favourites, and I’m delighted I got to go back and see it again.

There’s no holding back in order to try and be polite to our present-day king and queen, and I even love how they managed to get the tampon reference in there – because really, they don’t deserve to forget about that.

To be honest, I’ve never not enjoyed a show from Awkward Productions so far, and now they’ve signed with InterTalent, I believe only more good things are coming our way from Karp and Martin.