Queen Anne, a new play by Kate Glover which the Historia Theatre Company premiered at the Baron’s Court Theatre last week, is timed to coincide with the tercentenary of the death of the last Stuart queen and the subsequent Hanoverian succession. The succession is a matter very much on the mind of the Queen as she struggles to exert her authority over recalcitrant ministers, wage war against France and shore up her position against other claimants to the throne, not least her half-brother, James Stuart, the Jacobite Pretender.

With any play that attempts to portray a large span of history – the play opens in the depths of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and ends with Anne’s death in 1714 – the author must make difficult decisions on where to focus her dramatic energies. With the exception of the Act of Union of 1707, Queen Anne covers all the major events of Anne’s reign, including the Act of Settlement (1701), the Battle of Blenheim (1704), the Invasion Crisis (1708) and the Peace of Utrecht (1713-14) as well as charting the growth of factional party-oriented politics. This breadth means that the play sometimes takes on an expositionary character, with a large amount of factual information being imparted through the dramatic device of Dr Jonathan Swift in conversation with the shade of the Electress Sophia, whose death, only a few months before that of Anne, led ultimately to the accession of her son as George I. These interludes did at times seem over-long but the humour in the exchanges prevented them from becoming tiresome; they would also, of course, be of great use to someone unfamiliar with the period.

The play’s main focus is on Anne’s turbulent relationship with Sarah Churchill, later Duchess of Marlborough, and the friendship’s effect on how Anne formed her government ministries. Churchill identified as a Whig; Anne, though formally above the shifting partisan politics of her time, seems to have had natural sympathy for the Tory interest with its pre-eminent concern for the Church of England. As this play portrays it, a strong friendship, in which the domineering Sarah had considerable influence over the quieter Anne, went sour. The worsening of relations between the women led to Sarah’s fall from favour and the rise of Abigail Masham, a cousin of Sarah Churchill but also a cousin of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford and a notable Tory, much to the fury of the Whig faction. Women, even when queens, are often said to have had little political power in this period, but the play looks closely at how friendship and favour can lead to power and influence. It was good to see such ‘soft skills’, ably wielded, take centre stage in this work. The alleged lesbian relationships between both Churchill and Anne and Masham and Anne are hinted at with reference to the lurid press of the time, but it is plain from the play that it is not thought that the relationship between Masham and Anne was anything more than friendship, cynically exploited by the Whig faction. The scholarly debate on this matter, of course, continues!

The evening saw some excellent performances from the cast. Kate Glover was regal as Electress Sophia, with Peter Kenny an amusing and affable Jonathan Swift, with sharp humour and knowing asides. Hilary Derrett as Sarah Churchill was suitably scheming, overbearing and at times downright unpleasant, but also touching in her love for her husband John Churchill and her eventual regret at having fallen from grace. Earl Godolphin (Richard Ward) and John Churchill (Paul Croft) brought a smile to the face – the lanky Ward and the somewhat shorter Croft may have looked somewhat incongruous side-by-side on their first entrance but both men produced nuanced performances in which they balanced personal and party gain against genuine respect for their Queen and country. Hilary Field as Mrs Masham was a glorious mixture of innocence and condescension as she gloried in her own rise to favour, ably supported by a solid display from Mark Phillip Compton as Robert Harley. At the centre of it all was Queen Anne, played by Rosemary Smith. Smith faced a difficult task in this role: how to play a shy and somewhat retiring character and (as in history) avoid being overshadowed by the sparky Sarah Churchill? Smith’s interpretation was of a woman who, supported by a husband (Prince George of Denmark) whom she loved dearly, grew in power and confidence throughout her life despite her grief at his death, her own serious health problems and inability to produce an heir. After a slightly muted start, Smith managed to portray both vulnerability and strength which made her affecting and sympathetic.

The Baron’s Court Theatre is an intimate venue, just fifty seats, with an in-the-round seating arrangement and a tiny stage space. Director Kenneth Michaels utilised this well to add to the feeling of claustrophobia and secrecy of court life. The cast made good use of the space, albeit with a slight tendency to favour the front view. Simple furniture and excellent sound and lighting design enabled the play to move seamlessly between years and different palaces. Costumes were period-appropriate, although as a reviewer with a particular interest in the dress and hair of the eighteenth century I would have liked to see more attention paid to the women’s hairstyles, which were rather too severe – looser buns and flowing ringlets would have been ideal – and head-dresses were rather anachronistically set on plastic headbands, which remained a minor niggle throughout the evening!

It’s always excellent to see new writing attempting to bring history to life and Kate Glover made a sterling effort to capture the elusive character of Anne as well as make the period accessible and interesting to the audience. At times the dialogue was slightly clunky and some more attention should have been paid to the correct way in which persons of rank were addressed in the period, but these minor issues do not detract from the overall achievement. The more pedantic members of the audience would, I suspect, take issue with Sarah Churchill’s description of the Jacobite faction as ‘terrorists’ but Glover was deliberately intending to provoke debate and draw parallels with the modern world. All in all, it is a well-researched and thoughtful piece of writing with moments of genuine pathos and a fascinating exploration of female friendship. Aficionados of the period should definitely make the trip to see what they make of this interpretation of one of England’s most misunderstood Queens.

Queen Anne is playing from July 8th until August 3rd 2014 (Tuesday-Sunday at 7.30pm) at the Baron’s Court Theatre, 28a Comeragh Road, London, W14. Tickets £12 (concessions £10). Box Office – 0208 932 4747. At the performance on the 1st of August (the tercentenary of Anne’s death) the performers will take part in a costumed Q & A with the audience, and any member of the audience named Anne (with or without an e!) can gain free admission on this night.