Samantha Womack will star alongside Jane Asher in the second UK tour of Daisy Goodwin’s acclaimed play about Queen Elizabeth II and her Dresser, opening in Cambridge.
Daisy Goodwin’s debut play, By Royal Appointment, explores the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and her Dresser, looking at how together they created the public image of the world’s longest reigning monarch.
The full cast has been announced for the new UK tour, with Jane Asher and Samantha Womack starring as The Queen and her Dresser respectively. They will be joined by David Robb as The Designer and Matthew Cottle as The Milliner.
It opens at the Cambridge Arts Theatre on 21st September where it will run until 3rd October, before heading to venues including Nottingham, Chelmsford and Edinburgh. More venues are expected to be announced soon.
Tour venues
- Cambridge Arts Theatre 21st September - 3rd October
- Theatre Royal, Nottingham 5th-10th October
- Chelmsford Theatre 19th-24th October
- York Theatre Royal 9th-14th November
2027
- Chichester Festival Theatre 18th-23rd January
- King’s Theatre, Edinburgh 25th-30th January
- Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury 2nd-6th February
Daisy Goodwin achieved acclaim for writing the hit ITV historical drama Victoria, and for a string of novels including The Last Duchess, The Fortune Hunter, and The American Heiress. This new production follows a successful debut tour of the play in 2025 that starred Anne Reid and Caroline Quentin in the lead roles.
About the play
The late Queen Elizabeth II was famous for her discretion. She never said anything in public that could ruffle the lightest of feathers. But she had one way of expressing what she really thought - through her wardrobe.
By Royal Appointment is described as a funny, poignant and celebratory play about the kind of power that only a Queen can wield - she charms the world through coats and admonishes her family through a carefully chosen hat.
But the Queen herself is uninterested in fashion, her look instead managed by her Designer, her Milliner, and, most importantly, her Dresser, a working-class girl who goes from advising the Queen on the colour of her lipsticks to the real power behind the throne. But the Dresser, like all royal favourites, is living on borrowed time.
About the cast of By Royal Appointment
Jane Asher will play the Queen. Starting her career as a child, Jane has extensive stage credits including An American in Paris (Dominion Theatre) and Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), and has starred in several notable films and TV series, such as Alfie, Deep End, I Give It A Year and Brideshead Revisited.
Most recognisable for playing Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders, Samantha Womack will perform alongside Jane as the Dresser. Her numerous theatre roles have included Grease (Dominion Theatre), Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly Theatre), and the UK tours of The Addams Family, 42nd Street, and Dear England.
Groups can book tickets directly with their chosen theatre.
