Princess Diana died in an auto crash in Paris on Saturday, August 31, 1997 with her companion, Dodi Fayed. Scott Sublett, the playwright of Diana, began writing two days later and within two weeks had his first draft. I sat down with Sublett to discuss his play and the controversy that surrounds it:
Sublett continues, "A lot of women liked Diana's victimization. These women tell themselves they admired Diana's pluck, but for a lot of them Diana's life matched their own masochistic fantasies of doomed romance. Even as I say this, however, I'm being unfair - Diana meant something slightly differently to everyone. But there's a long tradition in American popular culture, going back to the domestic novels of the 1800s, of wallowing in suffering." When asked to discuss his views on the death of Diana Spencer, Scott replied, "American's have reacted to Diana's death rather childishly. As though a personal friend died. They're being sanctimonious about it. Europeans and Arabs saw it that it was an assassination, and probably because she was mixed up with Dodi and planned to move to Malibu and become a movie star. It would have destroyed the monarchy."
Society has turned Diana into the secular equivalent of the Virgin Mary, which is something that should be respected but I don't think that is particularly helpful. It is drama's duty to depict Diana. It is the duty of the artist to process history and shape the way we think of the great and mighty. It has been this way since the Greeks. Who else should we allow to interpret life? The makers of commemorative porcelain dolls? TV pundits?
Diana and the Royal Family are all political figures and therefore classically appropriate subjects for satire. Comedy is the perfect way to celebrate her, remember her, and keep her alive.
Die, Die, Diana is a comedy about death and one of the reasons I wrote it was to be able to treat death in a comic way. I am reminded of the famous remark, "Comedy is tragedy plus time."
Taste is a matter of taste. I think that most people who see the show will decide that it isn't in bad taste. Irreverent art and premature honesty are often mistaken for bad taste.
No. I am completely in favor of shock for shock's sake, however the point of my play is to shock the audience into reconsidering how they perceive Diana and how the culture defines her. I fully expect the self-righteous philistines to be shocked and horrified and not get it.
The play respects her by accepting her for who she was, warts and all. Diana is disrespected when she is turned into a plaster saint or a projection of their own fantasies, thereby by implication judging the real woman not good enough to be loved - ironically repeating in her death the central tragedy of her life. In my play she's a living, breathing woman with virtues and flaws. I'm not attacking Diana, I'm attacking the people who used and destroyed her. The play is actually quite kind to Diana and portrays her with affection. I do, however, see her as used and victimized by those around her. She was probably too naive and self-doubting to defend herself.
The title reflects the other characters in the play attacking Diana.
One of the points of the show is that everyone, including Diana herself, exploited Diana. All drama exploits the human models on which it is based, whether those models are famous or unknown, living or dead. The question is not whether the human model is exploited, she invariably is, but whether the art is good. That is for the audience to decide. SJSU Theatre Presents A World Premiere Musical Comedy D I E , D I E , D I A N A Book and Lyrics Music Direction Scott Sublett Jef Labes Danny Scheie October 23, 24, 29, 30, 31, and November 6, 7 at 7pm San Jose State University - Hal Todd Studio Theatre 5th and San Fernando Street (Downtown San Jose) Phone order tickets are available through all BASS outlets. Walk up and group tickets are available at the SJSU Event Center. For ticket information call 408.924.4555. For mature audiences only. Angus Bond ............................. Tom Shamrell Aristotle Onassis ................... Randall Marquez Camilla .............................. Michelle Jones Charles ............................ Breton Nicholson Diana ................................... Renee Cunha Dodi ................................... David Legois Elizabeth ........................... Laura Patterson Harry ................................... Matt Tondag Johny Swift ............................. Jason Barba Norma Jean ............................ Sarah Jenkins Sir Ralph .............................. Mark Bakalor Queen Mum ......................... Kathryn Salisbury William ............................... Mike Tandecki
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