All you closeted Royalists lurking in the United States—you know who you are—are hereby warned that if you want to envision the British Empire's headline-making Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex in this latest installment of Steppenwolf's NOW series of new plays, it's strictly on you. Vivian J. O. Barnes wrote her play in 2018, the two women who swap dialogue therein are identified only as "Duchess" and "Soon-to-be Duchess"—oh, and both are unambiguously Black.
Barnes's provocative premise proposes a mentorly chat between a current holder of the aforementioned magisterial title and a prospective candidate for assumption of that rank—both, in this case, acquired by virtue of having married heirs to the throne, or whatever seat of power prevails in this realm (president, CEO, landlord). The former appears to be suffering from a number of nervous twitches, however, almost as if she has been recently—well, rewired.
In an age where even the most unprepossessing citizen may be armed with a purse/pocket videocam and unafraid to use it, you don't have to be a blue-blooded bigwig to feel the pressure. For high-profile women, presenting an image of idealized perfection entails more than simply maintaining ladylike behavior—sitting with knees demurely locked, for example, or adhering to a diet of non-nutritive pacifier-surrogates—but can encompass posing in full regalia for baby pictures barely post-partum. What do we care if achievement of these goals demands draconian sacrifices? Isn't the dream of every Disneyworld damsel to marry a prince and live animatronically happy ever after?
Though only a bare 30 minutes long, the minimal physical action associated with a dramatic universe predicated on environmental inertia, not to mention the necessity of filming characters in separate sessions, mandates viewing Sydney Charles and Christine M. Cooper in extreme close-up for most of their onscreen time, intensifying our horror at witnessing the deterioration of a PTSD-racked Stepford Wife whose martyrdom to an envious public's fantasy of regal privilege will be remembered long after the reign of Elizabeth II has become as remote in our consciousness as that of her ancestral namesake.
