“The Audience” Theater review

The teen Elizabeth, fated to wear the crown and wield the scepter as Queen of England, hates her new digs at Buckingham Palace. “It’s like being trapped in a museum,” whines the unhappy girl. Contrast her experience with ours at Peter Morgan’s “The Audience.” For two hours, we watch a pageant of prime ministers, from Churchill to Cameron, in fictionalized weekly debriefs with their monarch. There’s a touch of waxworks about the piece. But you shouldn’t feel trapped, and anyway, museums can be nice, with pretty things to look at and facts to glean. Helen Mirren’s art of acting is certainly worth your close attention. Exuding perfect regal frostiness while letting us glimpse the lonely person underneath, Mirren transforms brilliantly (helped by lightning-fast costume changes) from the grandmotherly 69-year-old comforting an insecure John Major (Dylan Baker) to the 25-year-old heir apparent nervously schooled by Winston Churchill (Dakin Matthews).