Princess Diana is latest History at Play subject in 'Diana of LOVE'

A nation mourned and the world watched as the funeral was televised from Westminster Abbey …

It was just over 25 years ago that Princess Diana's tragic passing was met with profound grief.

Of course, it is only a few days since Westminster Abbey saw another sad royal occasion with the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II.

Both were momentous events, although the shock of the death of Princess Diana in a crash in a Paris tunnel at the age of 36 was perhaps different to the feelings of loss but also gratitude of a nation for the long life of service that Queen Elizabeth rendered before passing peacefully at 96.

The funeral of Princess Diana was seen by over 32 million people on television in the United Kingdom. The Queen's funeral was seen by 26 million on TV, although that figure doesn't include live streaming platforms, something that didn't exist in 1997.

"Diana of LOVE" is the latest History at Play production written, performed, directed and produced by Judith Kalaora, and was conceived in 2020 during the pandemic, long before Queen Elizabeth's health started to become a concern.

"It's a very different program than we've done in the past," Kalaora said of the production that made its debut on June 20 this year.

"Diana of LOVE" will be performed at 4 p.m. Oct. 6 at The Great Hall, West Brookfield Town Hall. The performance is free. Registration is required.

Kalaora presents Princess Diana (1961 to 1997) as a woman thrust into the global spotlight — a wistful and hopeful member of the English nobility transformed into one of the most beloved and most scrutinized philanthropists. History at Play calls her "a symbol of love who demonstrated an unmatched bravery that shattered royal tradition and would forever change society."

The first performance of "Diana of LOVE" in South Windsor, Connecticut, (appropriately, Kalaora joked, about the Windsor connection), "was amazing … it was a venue I had performed at before. It was a sold-out house for the show. It was great. We did Q&A afterward as well."

The Oct. 6 performance will also include a Q&A.

"It's a unique program, multi-modal, music, visual art, dancing, primary source speeches," Kalaora said.

There is authentic historical attire with vintage props, and professionally designed sets. The music and artwork is original for the production. Zoë Knight the musical producer provides the soundtrack for the performance either as a live vocalist and pianist, or using her recorded music to underscore the production, Kalaora said.

Loved to dance

Joanna Ciampa is the visual artist.

"Diana loved to dance," Kalaora said.

On one occasion at a charity event at the Royal Opera House, she danced on the stage to Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" while Prince Charles, now King Charles III, watched from the audience. "Charles got very upset," Kalaora said.

Diana Spencer was a young woman who was in the same orbit socially with the royal family and was suddenly seen as a "suitable" partner for Prince Charles, who was looking for a wife and future queen.

But there was an age difference (the then Prince Charles was 32 and Diana 20 when they were married in 1981), and Charles was in love with someone else — Camilla Parker Bowles.

By 1986, the marriage had basically disintegrated, although the divorce would not occur until 1996. A controversial interview that Princess Diana had with Martin Bashir on the BBC current affairs show "Panorama" in 1995 prompted the Queen to advise that Charles and Diana divorce.

Through it all, while Prince Charles was often seen as cold and aloof, Princess Diana became known as the "The People’s Princess." She embraced causes such as support for people with AIDS, seriously injured victims of landmines, and people suffering from leprosy. Some other royals considered these causes "gloomy."

In the summer of 1997 Princess Diana was in a relationship with Dodi Fayed, son of  billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, the former owner of the famous Harrod's department store in London. The car Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were being driven in to escape a hoard of paparazzi following them in Paris crashed in a tunnel, killing the couple and also the driver, who was determined to have been way over any permissible alcohol limit.

Kalaora, who grew up in Framingham and graduated from Syracuse University, founded the Boston area History At Play in 2010 to provide educational entertainment, chronicling the lives of influential as well as often forgotten women. Kalaora has developed a number of one-woman and ensemble productions, and comes to the Worcester area frequently for performances.

Framingham connection

Characters she has portrayed include Rachel Revere, wife of Revolutionary War figure Paul Revere; Lucy Stone, a 19th century suffragist and human rights activist; Hollywood actor Hedy Lamarr, an inventor who pioneered the technology that led to WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth; and New Hampshire schoolteacher and astronaut Christa McAuliffe, who died in the Challenger explosion in 1986 (like Kalaora, McAuliffe grew up in Framingham). Venues for productions range from schools and assisted living facilities to town halls and historic homes. History at Play also presents shows online.

After the death of Princess Diana, a sea of people placed thousands of bouquets of flowers at the gates of her residence at Kensington Palace. People said at the time they couldn't help but feel caught up in a tide of emotion.

Kalaora said she's been interested in Princess Diana her whole life.

"I wanted to do this program back in 2016," she said.

However, when she sent an e-blast to History at Play subscribers in 2016 asking them to vote on some proposed upcoming projects that included "Diana of LOVE,"  to her surprise "nobody voted for Princess Diana. (I thought) 'Ok, listen to subscribers.' But I thought, 'Why?'"she said.

Kalaora thinks that at the time there hadn't really been a major milestone since Princess Diana's death. "The public weren't ready for the 20th anniversary."

It was different leading up to the 25th anniversary of her death Aug. 31 this year. "We're ready for the 25th," Kalaora said.

Meanwhile, "During COVID I needed to invest in a cause not constantly trying to keep the company  going," she said of History at Play. All of History at Play's live in-person bookings where canceled for a while because of the pandemic, and it switched to online presentations. "It was such grunt work. I said, 'I need to take on a new show.' Focusing on myself is taking on a show. Taking on the program in 2020 was a surviving method for me."

So in 2020 "I just  hunkered down" working on "Diana of LOVE," Kalaora said. "Designing costumes, designing the set. I had to figure out where in time the audience was meeting her."

Kalaora decided on Kensington Palace right after the "Panorama" interview.

"More often than not folks here don't remember that (the interview). But it's a really interesting time to come into her life. She tells the public her life through her performance."

Lengthy project

The project took two years from conception to debut.

"I feel a lot of close personal connections to things," Kalaora said. "She was a diver in school. I was a springboard diver in school. I love to dance as well."   

Deeper still, "I had an eating disorder. She was bulimic for years," Kalaora said of Princess Diana. "Hearing her talk about it I can really understand what she was going through. She was very depressed because she was thrust into the world global spotlight and nobody helped her."

But Princess Diana overcame her bulimia. "I just so admired how she grew out of that.  She reclaimed her identity. She becomes this whole new person that is bold, philanthropic. If you can get out of your own head to break out of that dungeon,  watching her do that it helped me get through COVID," Kalaora said.

Kalaora's home is also her studio. "I wasn't leaving my home for days. Getting my head into her head helped me get my head out of the dungeon. She's empowering, very empowering."

She has performed "Diana of LOVE" since the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Asked if the Queen's death changed her performance at all, Kalaora said, "certainly on a psychological level I found myself emphasizing things a little differently."

However, "There's not a whole lot of talk about the queen in the performance," she said.

The Queen "registered bulimia as the cause" of Princess Dian's problems. And there was an attitude of "'why can't she take on less gloomy things (charities)'  … Diana said 'Maybe I should just be a patron on the English Ballet.' That was not a jab personally (at the Queen), but a jab to the royal establishment."

Still, "Diana always spoke admiringly of Her Majesty. I think she had nothing but personal admiration for the Queen. Maybe I change the intonation letting the audience know that she's gone now."

Kalaora has watched some of the Netflix series "The Crown" dramatizing the life of Queen Elizabeth II. "I loved it, but when they brought in Diana I was really disappointed with her and her story. It showed immaturity in a manner that wasn't fair. I stopped watching it." Still, secure with her own portrayal, "I think I'd be more comfortable watching it now."

Kalaora speaks like Princess Diana in her portrayal, she said. "I'm very good with accents."

Kalaora lived in England for a while and completed the Globe Education Program of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, where, coincidentally, voice coach Stewart  Pearce was also the voice coach of Princess Diana.

Princess Diana "elongates her vowels and clenches her jaw," when she speaks, Kalaora noted. "You can watch all of her speeches on YouTube. I recorded myself speaking."

After her first performance of "Diana of LOVE" a couple of people in the know offered Kalaora a few tips. Kalaora has pronounced "Buckingham" and "Norwich" the American way,  as in "Bucking-ham and "Nor-wich." She's been happy to change the pronunciation for subsequent performances.

"Things are busy," Kalaora said of History at Play as it returns to in-person live performances.

"Diana of LOVE" has "been selling really well," she said.

Because of the set and other technical considerations "it's not really feasible now to live-stream it." She could rent a theater, video it there and have the production available on demand. But she was about to perform the fifth live presentation, and has four or five more scheduled this year, "which is great for the first year (of a new production)," she said.

The Great Hall at West Brookfield Town Hall has seen previous History at Play productions including "CHALLENGER: Soaring with Christa," and, this past May,  "Rendezvous with Rachel Revere." "Diana of LOVE" is sponsored by the West Brookfield Historical Commission & Merriam-Gilbert Public Library.

Would Kalaora ever consider adding Queen Elizabeth II for a History at Play production?

"Maybe," she said. "I'd wait a little bit. I don't want to do things too soon. There will no doubt be a whole slew of biographies. 

"There are whole lot of people on my 'To Portray' list. The good thing about Queen Elizabeth, she lived to be 96. So I've got some time. There's no rush."

'Diana of LOVE'

When: 4 p.m. Oct. 6

Where: The Great Hall, West Brookfield Town Hall, 2 East Main Street, West Brookfield

How much: Free. Registration required by calling (508) 867-1410.

For more information, please visit www.HistoryAtPlay.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Princess Diana is latest History at Play subject in "Diana of LOVE"