Marie Antoinette's Musical World at Chiswick House
Olivia Doutney goes beyond the myth of the tragic queen
Olivia Doutney returns to Chiswick House as Marie Antoinette
September 26, 2026
After a successful UK tour, Antonia: Behind the Myth of Marie Antoinette returns to the place where it first captivated audiences earlier this year: Chiswick House. The neo-Palladian villa, with its elegant symmetry and 18th-century grandeur, offers an ideal backdrop for a production examining the emotional complexity of France’s most mythologised queen.
Part opera, part play, Antonia explores a side of Marie Antoinette that history often overlooks. Trapped in a loveless marriage and stifled by the rigid etiquette of Versailles, she channels her frustrations into music — championing composers, manoeuvring friends into stardom, and sparking scandals that ripple through the court. The production traces these episodes with humour and a growing sense of foreboding as the fun abruptly stops and the world around her begins to fracture.
Olivia Doutney leads the performance with a portrayal of Marie Antoinette addressing the audience directly as though welcoming them into her private salon. Petra Hajduchová accompanies on harpsichord, slipping in and out of character as Gluck, Piccinni, Sacchini, Dussek and Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges — the composers who shaped the queen’s musical universe.
The show has earned warm praise on its tour, with Alexander Armstrong describing it as “judiciously curated and stunningly performed.” Its return to Chiswick House promises an afternoon of 18th-century music presented in full costume and wigs, set within one of London’s most atmospheric historic homes.
The performance takes place on Saturday 3 October from 3pm to 5pm, with tickets priced at £25 (£22 members, £16 students).
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