Jonathan Maitland’s new play poses difficult and urgent questions through the re-telling of one of the most fascinating stories in contemporary British history
Ever since the first whispers of her relationship with Charles, back in the 80s, the media have always been drawn to Diana Spencer’s story like moths to a flame. Princess Diana’s famous BBC interview in 1995 was watched by approximately 200 million people across the globe and sparked controversy that continues to this day. Twenty-eight years later, the public’s appetite seems to still be yearning for the next exposé.
If by going to see The Interview, you’re hoping to be made privy to some previously unearthed information on the late Princess of Wales, you will find yourself disappointed. While trying to stay as true to the facts as possible, Jonathan Maitland aims, judiciously, not to expose some untold version of Diana’s story, but rather to present the bigger, universal questions that emerge from the chain of events leading up to her interview and its aftermath. And he definitely succeeds in that.
The first half of the play is heavily focused on Diana and her relationship with BBC’s Martin Bashir, conductor of the famous interview, as well as with other characters close to her who influenced her decisions. We quickly understand that the interview itself is merely a means to an end, an end that varies significantly for each one of the characters.
The second half focuses more on Martin Bashir, who rose to fame after the interview aired. His days of glory however were short lived, as his morally questionable methods sparked a series of accusations and criminal investigations that only died down a couple of years ago. Michael Fentiman’s clever direction echoes those events as he subtly shifts the tone of the piece from interview to interrogation, making us almost feel like we’re observing a trial, as each character “takes the stand” to defend their choices.
Yolanda Kettle creates an utterly mesmerising version of Diana and settles more and more into the character as the play progresses. She does an exceptionally good job at balancing Diana’s soft-spoken personality with meeting the acoustic demands of a full auditorium. Tibu Fortes is brilliant as Martin Bashir, whose unwavering conviction in the righteousness of his personal crusade makes it impossible for the audience to paint him, as with any of the other characters, in black or white, which is of course the entire point.
As the play itself suggests, the impact of a story varies depending on the context within which it is being told. Therefore, watching this play today, it feels impossible to separate its themes from the current socio-political climate. In a time when access to masses of information is easier than ever before, when virtue signalling serves as the ultimate currency for morality and when social media justice crusaders are ready to condemn anyone who dares to sit anywhere other than on either end of the spectrum, the questions that arise from The Interview seem more relevant than ever. Does such a thing as “objective truth” even exist? How much can we rely on information that reaches us after it has been edited, polished, and rephrased by an array of people, all with different agendas, let alone make decisions based on that information? Is it impossible to see the full picture of something while it is happening? Is doing the wrong thing better than doing nothing?Who can tell what the answer to those questions is, but it is more important than ever that we ask them. And The Interview definitely does that.