The Crown Live

Two actors reimagine the story of how Elizabeth Windsor became Queen Elizabeth II (and recreate three resplendent Netflix series of The Crown) in 70 minutes of frenetic hat-passing, period accents and corgi impressions.

A right royal treat for both fans of the TV show and for those wondering what all the fuss is about!

Having been cruelly overlooked for her dream role as Queen Elizabeth in blockbuster series The Crown, budding starlet Beth (Elizabeth Arends) brings her own take on the epic story of the British Royal Family to the stage instead… with her agent Stanley (Brendan Murphy) coerced into playing (almost) all the other roles – from Prince Philip to Princess Margaret, and all the commoners in between.

The Crown - Live! comes from the pen of parodic mastermind Daniel Clarkson, co-creator of Olivier Award nominated and Best of Last Vegas Award-winning hit shows Potted Potter and Potted Panto. It’s directed by Owen Lewis, also an Olivier Award nominee for Morecambe and Wise homage Eric and Little Ern.

Since its acclaimed and sell-out premiere at the King’s Head Theatre, London in 2019 (under original title The Crown Dual) The Crown - Live! has delighted audiences in Edinburgh, at a second London run and on an extensive US tour in 2022.

 

This happy and glorious parody of the Netflix series reminds us what theatre is all about.
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Right royal romp is jewel in the crown.
Daily Mail

 

More dates coming soon!

 

Elizabeth Arends

Beth

Elizabeth trained as a ballet dancer at Northern Ballet and went on to learn to act at Mountview Drama School because her feet hurt. 

She has been Joseph Fiennes' wife in Chariots Of Fire sequel On Wings Of Eagles. And both terrified and terrifying in horror films Alone and the upcoming Abruptio. TV credits include Lethal Weapon, New Amsterdam, Coronation St and Emmerdale. Elizabeth recently won a Robby Award for her portrayal of the conniving Nurse Fay in Joe Orton's Loot at The Odyssey Theater, Los Angeles.  Elizabeth has enjoyed a wealth of experience In voice acting and motion capture for various video games and animated films. 

Elizabeth now leads a nomadic lifestyle, dividing her time between Liverpool, London, Los Angeles and Houston!


Brendan Murphy

Stanley Diamond

Brendan is an actor, writer and comedian. 

His critically acclaimed parody show FRIEND (The One With Gunther) was Winner of Best Play at the Worldwide Comedy Awards, and his latest solo show Buffy ReVamped is set to entertain fans of Buffy The Vampire Slayer around the world as it tours internationally from next year. 

An experienced improviser, Brendan is a member of BBC Radio One's BattleActs! and a guest player for Second City and Monkey Toast. As one half of the Olivier Award nominated Potted Potter, he has toured extensively across the US and Canada including a residency at Bally's, Las Vegas, which won Best New Show in the Best Of Las Vegas Awards. 

He is co-writer of the satirical comedy podcast NonCensored with Rosie Holt, and the upcoming musical comedy The Last Library with Oliver Izod. Other writing credits include The Mawaan & Emily Show (BBC Asian Network), SO! Beano (Sky Kids) and Comedians In Quarantine (Comedy Central) with co-writer Kiell Smith-Bynoe. Screen credits include: Man Vs. Bee (Netflix), Broadchurch (ITV) and Spiderman: Far From Home (Marvel Studios).


Daniel Clarkson

Writer

According to Wikipedia, Daniel is a “British comedy actor, playwright and director with two Olivier nominations and a Blue Peter Badge.

Graduating from Bretton Hall, Daniel is probably best known for being one half of the comedy double act “Dan and Jeff”, renowned across the globe for their “Potted” stage shows as well as an 18-month residence in the CBBC office as their in-house presenters. With four shows now under his belt - Potted Potter, Potted Pirates, Potted Panto and Potted Sherlock (co-written with his brother Tom) - he has received both audience and critical acclaim, having had sell-out seasons in both London’s West End and New York, and completed several successful international tours. Potted Potter was even translated into Spanish, which Daniel then directed in Mexico City.

In 2015 Daniel joined the Edinburgh smash hit One Man Breaking Bad as director, also writing additional material. The show went on to have successful tours in the UK, Australia, North America and concluded with a sell-out run in India. Daniel premiered his next creation, King Kong (a comedy) at the Vaults in London where it enjoyed a successful 10-week run and was nominated for 3 “Offies” - including Best Production. Daniel has had regular appearances on television - writing, performing and directing his unique brand of condensed comedy - and spent six months in LA training and working with The Upright Citizens Brigade.


Owen Lewis

Director

Owen is a director and writer for theatre and radio. He is currently developing a BBC Radio 4 radio series with the lead singer of Madness called Suggs On London, and a one-man show with Alexander Armstrong. Recent projects include Suggs: What A King Cnut (National Tour); Grumpy Old Women To The Rescue (National Tour); Dad’s Army Radio Show (UK Tour) and Gok Wan - Naked & Baring All (National Tour). The film adaptation of the stage show Suggs: My Life Story, co-directed with Julien Temple, was released in cinemas and on DVD last year. Other credits include the Olivier-Nominated Eric And Little Ern (Vaudeville Theatre, UK Tour), King Kong (Vaults); The Harri–Parri Radio Show (BBC Radio Wales – 3 series); Suggs: My Life Story (Garrick Theatre, UK Tour); Joe Stilgoe - Songs On Film (Assembly Checkpoint, UK Tour), A Christmas Carol with The Fitzrovia Radio Hour (Spiegeltent, Leicester Square); The Only Way is Downton (Trafalgar Studios, UK & US/Canada Tour), Stewart Lee’s Johnson & Boswell: Late But Live (Traverse Theatre, UK Tour), Grumpy Old Women: Chin Up Britain (Novello Theatre, UK Tour); Hardeep Singh Kohli’s Indian Takeaway (Gilded Balloon, UK Tour), and the stage premiere of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (Soho Theatre, Arts Theatre).


Lee Newby

Designer

Lee graduated from The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in 2011 with a First Class BA Honours degree in Theatre and Performance Design. Recent and current productions include: The Last Five Years (Southwark Playhouse); Hamlet & The Cherry Orchard (Theatre Royal Windsor); Musik (Edinburgh Festival 2019) & Leicester Square Theatre); Prayer For Wings & Jerker (King's Head Theatre); Mother of Him, Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] & Gently Down The Stream (Park Theatre); The Life I Lead (Jonathan Church Productions  - Theatre Royal Bath and Wyndham's Theatre, West End); Cruel Intentions The 90's Musical (Edinburgh Festival 2019); Vienna 1934 - Munich 1938 (Ustinov Studio Theatre, Bath); Mythic (Charing Cross Theatre); Abigail's Party (Salisbury Playhouse, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg Queens Theatre Hornchurch & Derby Theatre); Abi (Queens Theatre Hornchurch & Derby Theatre); Homos, Or Everyone in America (Finborough Theatre); Richard III and Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare's Rose Theatre, York); Labour Of Love (Noel Coward Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatr Clywd); The Tempest, Ignis & Deathwatch (The Print Room); Lunch & The Bow of Ulysses (Trafalgar Studios); Floyd Collins (Wilton’s Music Hall); Stay Awake, Jake (Vault Festival); & Grand Hotel & Dogfight (Southwark Playhouse).

Associate Design Work includes: Lazarus (De La Mar Theatre, Amsterdam); Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (Theatre Royal Bath); Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Wyndham's Theatre); Lazarus (King’s Cross Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Garrick Theatre); Hughie (Booth Theatre, NY); Carousel (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera); Photograph 51 (Noel Coward Theatre); A Damsel in Distress (Chichester Festival Theatre); Privates on Parade, Peter and Alice, The Cripple of Inishmaan, A Midsummer Night’s Dream & Henry V (Michael Grandage Company Season Noel Coward Theatre); Macbeth (Manchester International Festival / Park Avenue Armory); Wolf Hall (RSC, Aldwych Theatre, Winter Gardens); & Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Rodger’s Theatre, NY).

www.leenewby.com


Robbie Butler

Lighting Designer

Robbie trained at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He is an honorary life member of the Association of Lighting Designers, has been twice nominated for an Off West End Award for Best Lighting Design and was the winner of the 2015 ETC Award.

Theatre Includes: The Happy Tragedy of Being Woke (Complicité); The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Macron Stadium, Bolton); The Selfish Giant (UK Tour); Down and Out: Live (La Generale, Paris); Lady MacWata (Ghostlight Theatre Co.); Abandoman (Underbelly Productions); For King and Country and Mother Courage and Her Children (both Southwark Playhouse); Tensile Strength (Arc Stockton); There or Here (Park Theatre); The Wind In The Willows (Core Theatre); The Provoked Wife (Hope Theatre); Curtain’d Sleep (Entita Theatre Company); Boom (Theatre 503); Run The Beast Down (Marlowe Theatre); Windows, Just To Get Married, Incident at Vichy, Caste, Dubailand, Don’t Smoke In Bed (Finborough); Mumburger, Odd Shaped Balls (Old Red Lion); 1984: Live (Senate House, UCL); Jekyll and Hyde (Pleasance Theatre); Dracula (The Warren, MainStage); and Poppies The Musical (The Space Theatre).

Opera Includes: Isabeau (Opera Holland Park); Dialogues Des Carmelites (Guildhall School of Music and Drama); Il Trovatore (The Royal Danish Opera - Associate Lighting Designer); and The Enchanted Pig (Hampstead Garden Opera).

robbiebutlerdesigns.com


James Nicholson

Sound Designer

James studied Theatre Sound Design at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

West End: The Boys In The Band (Vaudeville Theatre), Vanities (Trafalgar Studios), Ushers- The Front of House Musical (Arts Theatre), As Is (Trafalgar Studios) and Dessa Rose (Trafalgar Studios).

UK Touring: Ray Cooney’s Out Of Order, The Boys In The Band, Made Up Stories from my Unmade Bed, Rise and Fall and Liza Liza Liza. Off West End: Aspects of Love (Southwark Playhouse), Aladdin (Broadway Theatre), Unexpected Joy and Pippin (both Southwark Playhouse), Fitzrovia Radio Hour's A Christmas Carol (Spiegeltent Leicester Square), Chinglish, The Boys In The Band and Shutters (all Park Theatre), The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Southwark Playhouse), Park Theatre), and for Charing Cross Theatre: DUSTY; Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in ParisUshers- The Front of House Musical; Finian’s Rainbow and Lost Boy.

Fringe Work includes: RAGS and Putting It Together (Hope Mill Theatre), F*cking Men (Vaults Theatre), Lights Out (Rose Theatre Kingston), Princess Caraboo and Lost Boy (both Finborough Theatre), and for the Union Theatre: Road Show; Fear and Misery of the Third Reich; White Feather; Henry VI- Play of Thrones; Lear and Ace of Clubs.


Inventive, fun parody skilfully combining play-that-goes-wrong antics with a potted history of the royals.
Mark Lawson, The Guardian
Rib-achingly hilarious parody of the Netflix classic. This is a show for everyone. It is, quite simply, a royally good night out.
Theatre Weekly
One simply does not hear this level of laughter in a theatre very often – and, for that gift, I bow my head to everyone involved in this Crown inspired caper.
Broadway World
A rib tickling way to start a night out.
ReviewsGate
The show should be praised for its comedy value from the start.
The Spy In The Stalls
A riotous romp.
Islington Gazette
A masterclass in comic timing.
London Pub Theatres
A rip roaring silly comedy.
RemoteGoat
An entertaining and diverting night out.
ActDrop
Anarchic fun played with imagination and energy from the two performers.
The Upcoming