What happens when you, as a person, become synonymous with your work? When it’s all consuming and becomes the foundation of your entire life? Nick Green’s Dinner with the Duchess takes a look at one such artist at a pivotal moment in her career: her retirement. After a hit run at Here For Now Theatre in Stratford, Dinner with the Duchess, directed by Kelli Fox, is now taking Toronto by storm with an already extended run. This riveting drama about passion and art touches the soul.

Getting to revisit a production is a rarity, and I was fortunate to get to review Dinner with the Duchess in September of 2024. If you’d like to know more about the story itself and my initial thoughts on the production, you can read it here: https://aviewfromthebox.net/2024/09/17/here-for-now-theatres-dinner-with-the-duchess/

For this review, I want to dig deeper into the questions posed by this play and the impact they’ve had on me, as well as incorporating discussion of the Toronto production’s unique qualities and performances.

The heart of Dinner with the Duchess is the notion of legacy. Helen can, with a single article, implode Margaret’s legacy while simultaneously building up her own. Though Helen has been writing for 10 years, an exposé like she has planned for Margaret would cement her career, yet at what cost? Margaret was admittedly an inspiration to Helen, and yet Helen’s also willing to publish stories which will besmirch any good memory of Margaret’s work. While these stories are true, the pain and bullying which brought them about have been (as usual) overlooked, until Margaret finally lets down her guard enough to tell them from her perspective.

Witnessing the process of Margaret opening up to Helen is as heartbreaking as it is mesmerizing. The double standard that Margaret speaks of regarding women’s roles in male dominated fields has clearly created a steely facade which she maintains for the majority of the evening. But as those walls come down, and she’s forced to talk about the people and events which gained her the nickname of “Duchess,” the woman we find is scared, hurt, and alone. In these moments, Jan Alexandra Smith is crying; her voice breaks and there’s a deep pain which I hadn’t witnessed previously. She does such a breathtaking job of bringing this character to life, and in the time since I first witnessed her portrayal, it’s only become more nuanced and beautiful.

The other issue Margaret is forced to confront is how entangled her self-worth has become in her work. One of my favourite monologues in the play is about how this happens, how your theme gets muddled by all of the other aspects of your life. But when things like travel and the people in your life all become connected to that theme, to your work, it just makes the theme more and more complicated. One and a one and a one and a one. In one of those moments where she breaks down, she says “Oh my god, what if my life means nothing?” She’s staring down the barrel of having her legacy go away and suddenly realizing that she’s poured everything into this singular aspect of her life and if that gets taken away, then what’s left? The final moments of the play have Margaret begging Helen to let her legacy remain: “Let this be me. Please let this be me.” This final gesture of total surrender is devastating; this woman who was so sure of herself at the beginning of the play has had her whole world turned upside down and now has to live with the consequences.

Rosie Simon and David Keeley once again join Jan Alexandra Smith for the Toronto production of Dinner with the Duchess. Simon’s performance is fierce; Helen has certainly come into this interview with more information than she’s willing to let on, and it’s not until the final moments where she looks as if she’s considering to change her mind about what she’s going to write. The gasp she utters as Margaret puts on music is such a pivotal moment which is portrayed beautifully. Keeley’s charm radiates through his scenes; he’s able to be flirtatious, supportive, and yet understandably fed up all at the same time. Though I must admit, part of me missed the scruffy beard.

The addition of two light boxes which act as the windows for the room were a delightful and meaningful nod to the original run of this show. They feature images of the Toronto skyline, and there’s a sunset sequence which runs as the play progresses so that the colours mirror a true sunset. As Here For Now Theatre’s previous home was in a tent outdoors, this natural progression is a part of every show. To have it brought inside here in the Streetcar Crowsnest Studio space is a really special and thoughtful addition.

Dinner with the Duchess also makes me face very real fears for myself:

• That I will become too entangled in this field and it will consume everything and I’m scared of what will be sacrificed if that happens. I don’t want theatre to be the only thing my fiancé and I talk about. I want to do things outside of this world. While it is my passion, it doesn’t have to be everything.

• That my legacy is delicate. I put myself and my thoughts out for consumption regularly, which makes me particularly vulnerable to others having an opinion of me, and some folks can be rather loud about those opinions. This is simultaneously a great part of the gig and a terrifying part of the gig. The court of public opinion, as Margaret shows, is a harsh one, and there’s a very thin line between being revered and being spoken about in hushed tones.

However, being given the opportunity to understand these as fears is a gift. It gives voice and language to the abstract ideas which likely plague many more creative folks than just myself. Dinner with the Duchess is an insightful look into our psyche with stunning clarity and emotion. Both times that I have been fortunate enough to watch this play, the tears have streamed from my eyes; the performances and the text move me in such a uniquely profound way.

“This is ME. THIS is me.”

Dinner with the Duchess runs at the Studio Theatre at Streetcar Crowsnest until February 9. For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.crowstheatre.com/whats-on/view-all/dinner-with-the-duchess

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You can listen to my Podcast interview with writer Nick Green here: https://aviewfromthebox.net/a-view-from-the-box-the-podcast/

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Cover Photo: Artwork for Dinner with the Duchess by Mark Uhre

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