FASHION RULES : RESTYLED KENSINGTON PALACE
NELL GWYNN – APOLLO THEATRE
By Richard Fitzwilliams
FASHION RULES : RESTYLED KENSINGTON PALACE
This follows the earlier Fashion Rules exhibition in 2013 and spans four decades . It contains some marvellous dresses worn by H . M . The Queen , Princess Margaret and Diana , Princess of Wales , two of whom were based at Kensington Palace . A fashionable royal image is essential for the role . It is disseminated by an insatiable press to a fascinated public and the influence members of the royal family have had , and continue to have , on trends in fashion is huge . This brings substantial benefits to the couturiers they use and also to the British fashion industry , which this show credits the Princess of Wales with having personally revived .
Catherine Walker for Diana Princess of Wales 1992 . Historic Royal Palaces © Museo de la Moda
The designers featured include two of the greatest , Sir Norman Hartnell and Sir Hardy Amies and also Zandra Rhodes , Bruce Oldfield and Catherine Walker , who was Diana ’ s favourite designer . The task of creating a royal outfit is certainly challenging . It is often themed for the event it is to be worn for and if designed for a trip abroad it may reflect the national colours of the host country . Dresses on show that are particularly striking include the gorgeous Hardy Amies evening gown that the Queen wore on her state visit to France in 1972 , which was used in her official Silver Jubilee photographs , and the stunning silk velvet halterneck dress by Catherine Walker that Diana was photographed in so enchantingly by Mario Testino in 1997 , just before her tragic death .
Princess Margaret patronized the “ New Look ” from Christian Dior with full skirts and nipped-in waists in the 1950s and had a glamorous aura . The Queen ’ s outfits have to live up to public expectations and over six decades she has perfected a regal and tasteful look which is often also wonderfully colourful and imaginative .
It is ironic that whilst displaying dresses destined to be worn and appreciated in a grand setting , this exhibition is cramped and makes for extremely uncomfortable viewing in the Piggott Galleries . There are no sheets to read from and iPads are not yet available . The lighting is low of necessity but anyone wanting to read about the dresses and see a photograph of how they were worn has to bend very low or kneel on the ground as the labels are so near to the floor which is absurd . Unbelievably , there is no film footage ; all we get is some photographs shown as slides in two of the five rooms . The designers sketches are not labelled either .
If you visit this show you quite literally suffer for beauty and a rethink of how future exhibitions should be mounted in this space is urgently required .
Hardy Amies for HM The Queen 1979 . Historic Royal Palaces © Lord Linley & Lady Sarah Chatto
NELL GWYNN – APOLLO THEATRE
Gemma Arterton ( Nell Gwynn ) and David Sturzaker ( Charles II ) in Nell Gwynn at the Apollo Theatre .
Photo credit Tristram Kenton
The heroine in this dazzling new play by Jessica Swale has long been part of legend . Nell Gwynn , the prostitute and orange seller who became a top actress and , most famously , the mistress of the libidinous Charles II , is one of the feistiest and most endearing of heroines . Her vivacity , sensuality and force of character is wonderfully captured by Gemma Arterton in a tour de force as the play ’ s eponymous heroine . She is pivotal to the success of a play which transports us to a colourful , bawdy and dangerous period in England ’ s history . King Charles I had only recently been beheaded , after a bloody and divisive civil war , and the monarch and parliament were still opposed on crucial issues .
The sets are spectacular and skilfully used and the costumes are magnificent . They set the tone for a piece much of which is a riot of colour . It follows the often farcical fortunes of the King ’ s Company in the Theatre Royal where the King ’ s edict permitting women on the previously all-male stage is still causing heartache . This , like Shakespeare in Love , is an affectionate homage to the theatre . It is there that Charles first sees Nell , who , in a hilarious interlude , shamelessly plays to the gallery and captures his heart to the frustration of the playhouse ’ s leading actor Charles Hart , well played by Jay Taylor .
The play contains touching scenes between them and the chemistry between Nell and David Sturzaker ’ s Charles works so well . It is clear they love each other . Charles ’ s wife , Queen Catherine , and his mistresses , Lady Castlemaine and Louise de Keroualle , are gorgeously clad ciphers in comparison .
The dialogue is deliciously bawdy . It is written with flair and has a wonderful sense of fun . It tells how the theatre , banned by the puritans as a den of iniquity but patronized by the King , was an integral part of the louche new society that he created . Musical interludes , particularly one which conveys the heightened anticipation before a performance , are well staged and the tunes are wonderfully catchy .
The supporting cast are all excellent . We are swept up into another century and into a world where the wildest of dreams , that of an orange seller becoming the first lady of the Restoration in all but name , actually came true . The success of the revival of this marvellous play , which initially closed after a few performances at the Globe and which has now won Best Comedy at the Olivier Awards , captures the spirit of the age with glorious abandon .
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