Writer: Ellie Grace
The story of Anne Boleyn is a familiar one – indeed, there have been plenty of films made about the beheaded queen – but Ellie Grace plays a blinder in The Whore Queen, showing in the third week of Camden Fringe. Full of spirit and bitterness, this Queen of England is a force of nature.
Grace’s play begins at the end with Boleyn awaiting her execution for adultery, incest and treason. She must go back to the start, Grace says, even if it is a theatrical cliché. She talks to the audience directly, but it’s not clear which character we are meant to be playing. Cleverly, our role in the performance is not revealed until the end.
Very much like Georgia Nicholas’ Kabbarli: An Irishwoman in The Desert, also playing at this year’s Camden Fringe, Grace sidesteps her famous woman’s childhood and begins with Boleyn’s entry in the Netherlands’ Royal court. And later in Queen Claude of France’s household, she is introduced to reformist literature and a world where women can hold ideas of their own. However, after she marries Henry VIII, all her expectations for an intellectual life are scuppered when she fails to produce a male heir.
Grace is fierce as the young queen, stamping around the stage in frustration and disappointment. But this Anne never shouts or loses her temper; she is regal until the end. Contemporary pop music sometimes plays in the background to give the impression that this version of the most famous of Henry’s wives is a woman of our age, not a tragic, dusty figure from history.
To lighten the mood, there is some low-level audience participation which, while well-handled, does take us out of the story a little. Future iterations of the show – there are hopes to take this to Edinburgh next year – may want to include a few songs instead, or even some movement to further narrow down the gap between 1536, when Anne was executed, and our own position in the 2020s.
With just a chair and a handful of paperbacks, Boleyn is deftly brought to life, and there are some impressive lights from technical manager Abbie Lowe behind the desk. Ellie Grace’s performance is so good, it will be hard to think of anyone else playing Boleyn when the next biopic inevitably hits our screens.
Runs until 22 August 2026
Camden Fringe 2026 runs until 30 August