Princess Diana musical edits Princes William & Harry, Queen and Dodi out of her life to avoid Royal controversy
AFTER 12 years of false starts, a controversial musical about the life of Princess Diana will make it to the West End this spring – but four key figures in her life will be missing.
I can reveal Princes William and Harry are not included in the plot, nor the Queen.
Prince Charles will only appear briefly in a “cameo appearance” during a scene set on their wedding day.
And producers have currently written her final boyfriend Dodi Fayed out of the script, too.
The dramatic reworking of Call Me Diana comes as its producers move to reassure the Royal Family and investors that the production will be a celebration of the late princess’s life.
Former advertising executive Brian Watson, one of the driving forces behind the show, is a conspiracy theorist around Diana’s death — but insists it will not stray into those murky areas.
After announcing the first showcase of Call Me Diana in London’s West End this September, he told me: “The conspiracy theory thing is not relevant to the musical.
“One of the parameters we set ourselves while writing this was we want a show about Diana that will not upset her sons. If they said, ‘We would like to see this’, we would be delighted.”
The princes are, quite rightly, going to be concerned about the concept, which is why the creators have also decided against re-enacting Diana’s 1997 death in a Paris car crash.
Brian explained: “We felt it was totally wrong for a stage musical about this wonderful woman to end on that tragic death.
“You don’t want the audience leaving the theatre mopping their eyes. You want them to leave totally in love with the icon that Diana became.”
Instead, recreations of the news reports around her death will be used to set the narrative.
Diana is being played by Welsh hairdresser Natasha John — who was spotted for the role after appearing on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show — and other scenes will feature the icon’s time as a nanny, complete with prams flying through the air, and bonding with staff downstairs at Kensington Palace.
Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett will be portrayed in the musical, as Diana’s night out with them in a gay club is a key scene.
Her battle with bulimia will feature, as will her bomb-shell Panorama interview with Martin Bashir.
Brian claims he turned down an offer from two Saudi Arabian princes to “fully fund” the show.
He explained: “We thought hang on, the way Suadi Arabia treats its women doesn’t sit comfortably with Diana. Could this seriously backfire on us?’”
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A-list friends of the princess, including Rod Stewart, Elton John and Brian May, have been invited to the showcase at the Leicester Square Theatre and Brian hopes they attend.
The producer said: “We were tired of the fact that whenever anybody wrote anything about Diana, it was tacky.
“We believe she deserves a real tribute and that’s what we’ve written.”
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