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Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II

Theatre Costume
2013 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Cream and silver dress with a blue sash to which two brooches have been sewn. The dress was designed by Bob Crowley and worn by Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience which opened at the Gielgud Theatre, London, in 2013. The Audience was written the British playwright and screenwriter Peter Morgan. The play centres on the weekly meetings, called audiences, between Queen Elizabeth II (played by Dame Helen Mirren) and her prime ministers.

This costume by Bob Crowley dates from the original production. Both hair (designed by Ivana Primorac) and costume played a key part in transforming Mirren into older and younger incarnations of the Queen, and this is one of a series of outfits worn in the play. All the costume changes happened on the stage and were masked by careful direction from Stephen Daldry.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleHelen Mirren as Elizabeth II (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Artificial silk, net, tulle, lace, glass and plastic jewels
Brief description
Cream and silver dress and blue sash with two brooches, designed by Bob Crowley and worn by Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II in The Audience at the Gielgud Theatre, London in 2013
Physical description
The dress has a cream artificial silk ground woven with strands of metallic silver thread. The bodice fits closely to the body and the skirt is very full, extending into a slight train at the rear. The sleeves of the bodice finish just above the wrist and follow the line of the arm. It has a low neckline, shaped to follow the line of the bust at the front, but extends up into a high stiff collar at the rear. Narrow scallop edged bands of lace have been used to edge the cuffs and neckline, creating the illusion of a close-fitting bolero jacket at the shoulder line.

A deep blue sash, pleated to shape, runs from the proper left shoulder to the proper right hip. Two brooches have been stitched to this sash, one, an Order of the Garter is secured to the proper left shoulder, the other, a lesser Order of St George, positioned at the proper right side waist. The interior of the bodice is lined with cream fabric, probably polyester.

The skirt is formed from several layers of fabric. It has a stiff inner skirt, secured with press studs at the rear. It has a soft outer layer of fine tulle which falls in softly draping pleats over the underskirt. The whole skirt is also supported on an integral stiff net petticoat. Further panels of cream and silver net have been used to cover the sleeves and upper skirt. These panels are decorated with silver bugle-style beads and imitation cut glass/plastic jewels.

The bodice fastens with a long-inverted cream plastic zip. The skirt, which is open from the waist to the hem, is secured with 19 pairs of metal press studs which run from the waistline to the base of the skirt. Two lengths of boning have been used to stiffen the bodice at either side of the centre front and a further short length of boning has been added to the interior base of the hem.
Dimensions
  • Centre back of neck to hem (front) length: 154cm (approximate)
  • Centre back of neck to hem (back) length: 169cm (approximate)
  • Collar to waist length: 50cm (approximate)
  • Waist to hem (front) length: 128cm (approximate)
  • Across front shoulders width: 38cm (approximate)
  • Across front waist width: 32.5cm (approximate)
  • Total weight of costume and packing as stored in box weight: 4.15kg (approximate)
Gallery label
Gallery rotation, 2022 DRESS WORN BY HELEN MIRREN AS QUEEN ELIZABETH II IN THE AUDIENCE 2013 Helen Mirren wore this dress in the original production of The Audience at the Gielgud Theatre, London. The play by Peter Morgan is based on the private weekly audience given by the monarch to the prime minister. Costume played a key part in transforming Mirren into older and younger incarnations of the Queen. Many of the costume changes happened on stage. The play later inspired the Netflix series The Crown. Designed by Bob Crowley Artificial silk, net, tulle, lace, glass and plastic jewels Given by Playful Productions (costume) and Irene Bohan (brooches) Museum no. S.200-2018 (07/03/2022)
Credit line
Given by Playful Productions (costume) and Irene Bohan (brooches)
Summary
Cream and silver dress with a blue sash to which two brooches have been sewn. The dress was designed by Bob Crowley and worn by Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience which opened at the Gielgud Theatre, London, in 2013. The Audience was written the British playwright and screenwriter Peter Morgan. The play centres on the weekly meetings, called audiences, between Queen Elizabeth II (played by Dame Helen Mirren) and her prime ministers.

This costume by Bob Crowley dates from the original production. Both hair (designed by Ivana Primorac) and costume played a key part in transforming Mirren into older and younger incarnations of the Queen, and this is one of a series of outfits worn in the play. All the costume changes happened on the stage and were masked by careful direction from Stephen Daldry.
Collection
Accession number
S.200-2018

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Record createdJuly 19, 2018
Record URL
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