The Untold and Untrue Story
Written and directed by Linus Karp
SoHo Playhouse | 15 Vandam St. , New York, NY 10013
January 6, 2026- January 9, 2026
Photos by Dave Bird
Truth be told, the group of us who saw Gwyneth Goes Skiing could not wait to see Linus Karp as Lady Di in Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story. Also, full disclosure, I am obsessed with the royal family. I have watched The Crown, researched the family tree, desperately want more information about Prince Philip’s mother Princess Alice of Battenberg who founded an order of nuns in Greece, and I may or may not have enjoyed that the Spare and his wife essentially said “peace, it’s been real” to the royal family.
We knew disappointment was not on the menu. We walked into a packed theatre to Queen’s “Killer Queen,” settled into our seats to Lorde’s “Royals,” and immediately took on the very serious task of discovering our royal names via the Royal Name Generator. Mine is Fit Princess Mother of Cock. Reader, I was ready.
Once again, this production is thoroughly enjoyable, razor sharp, and even more resonant if you are deeply invested in Princess Diana, the royal family, and the very public trauma surrounding Diana, Camilla, and Prince Charles. What made that era so shocking in the 1980s was that no one from the royal family had ever spilled the tea in such a human and vulnerable way. Diana did. And as we know, the media is very much part of the institution.
At the center of the production is Linus Karp, who delivers a stunning embodiment of Diana. From the mannerisms to the subtle tilt of the head, Karp captures her essence without chasing glamour or slipping into impersonation. That is entirely the point. This portrayal is knowingly tongue in cheek while remaining grounded in love and respect. What makes the performance so satisfying is its balance. It is tasteful and tasteless at the same time, which is exactly what the audience wants. We are invited into the darkness, the camp, the gossip, and the absurdity without ever losing sight of the reverence Diana deserves.
This is a Diana who is deeply loved. A woman taken far too soon, right in her prime. The echoes of “Candle in the Wind” are impossible to ignore. She connected with people in ways no royal ever had before. Children. The marginalized. Our queer siblings. Her advocacy around landmines, something many of us barely understood at the time, and her fearless compassion during the AIDS epidemic, when so few were even willing to engage the conversation, are meaningfully woven throughout the piece. It is also a sharp reminder of how collective memory works. Mother Teresa died the very same day as Diana, and for many of us, that fact now lives somewhere deep in the cultural footnotes. Though she’s quite present in this telling
What this iteration imagines so beautifully is the question of what if. What if Diana had lived. What would she be saying to us now. It is a powerful theatrical device that allows the audience to reconnect with her humanity and her voice in a way that feels both cathartic and mischievously satisfying.
Though rooted in solo performance, the show never feels solitary. Audience interaction is constant and genuinely joyful. The audience becomes part of the world as wedding guests, parents, and enthusiastic participants in the chaos. Prince Charles as a cutout is everything especially since the cutout is present day Charles. And yes, Camilla appears as a puppet, a grotesque demon that may be just a bit extra at times. We really should have more respect for the Queen Consort. Remember, “there were three of us.”
Soho Playhouse is the perfect venue for this work. Intimate yet expansive, it allows Karp to use the entire space. You are not just watching the show. You are inside it. The energy is communal, playful, and warm. At one point, even a Queen Elizabeth corgi emerges from the audience, and the room erupts with delight.
Click here for tickets.
Review by Malini Singh McDonald
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on January 11th, 2026. All rights reserved.
