W&L Presents Screening of the West End’s ‘The Audience’ Helen Mirren stars as Queen Elizabeth II in the award-winning play by Peter Morgan, creator of Netflix’s “The Crown.”

The Lenfest Center for the Arts
April 28, 2026

The Lenfest Center at Washington and Lee University will conclude its National Theatre Live series with a screening of “The Audience” at 7:30 p.m. on May 5 in Stackhouse Theater in Elrod Commons.

The screening is also part of the Lenfest Center’s Outreach & Engagement (O&E) series. Tickets are required and can be purchased online or in person at the Lenfest Center box office.

W&L’s National Theatre Live series features screenings of seven top British theater productions, connecting university knowledge and art experiences on the W&L campus and beyond to the local community in a mutually beneficial partnership. Most recently, “The Fifth Step” was screened on April 14.

Helen Mirren stars as Queen Elizabeth II in the Olivier and Tony Award-winning production by Peter Morgan, showrunner of Netflix’s “The Crown.”

For 60 years, Queen Elizabeth II met with each of the 12 prime ministers that spanned her reign in a private weekly meeting, known as the audience. From Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron, the Queen advised her prime ministers on matters both public and personal. Through these private audiences, we see glimpses of the woman behind the crown and witness the moments that shaped a monarch. “The Audience” also served as the basis for Morgan’s award-winning show “The Crown.”

Filmed live during its 2013 run at the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End, “The Audience” is directed by Stephen Daldry.

Order your tickets online today or call the Lenfest Center box office at 540-458-8000 for ticket information. Box office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cost is $20 for general admission and $8 for W&L students.

The National Theatre Live performances are sponsored in part by the Class of 1964 Performing Arts Fund.

For a full list of this season’s performances, visit the Lenfest Center’s website.

The Lenfest Center for the Arts, home of the Department of Theater, Dance and Film Studies, the Department of Music and the Department of Art and Art History, is a multi-use facility designed and equipped to accommodate a broad spectrum of the performing arts, including theater, musical theater, opera and operetta, choral and band music, dance and performance art in one energizing complex.