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Before the Kardashians came sensational sisters The Mitfords: The Party Girls

  • Amanda Burden
  • Sep 10
  • 2 min read
The cast of The Party Girls. Photo credit Mark Senior.
The cast of The Party Girls. Photo credit Mark Senior.

The Party Girls, The Mitford Sisters. Belgrade Theatre from 9 to 13 September 2025. Written by Amy Rosenthal. Directed by Richard Beecham. Set Design by Simon Kenny.

Review by Amanda Burden


Every now and then a perfect one-liner from a play somehow becomes more famous than the show itself. I’m thinking ‘A…. handbag?’ from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest; ‘I have always depended on the kindness of strangers’ from Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire; or ‘We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars’ – Oscar Wilde again but I forget the play. See? Point proved.

Ell Potter as Unity. Photo credit Mark Senior.
Ell Potter as Unity. Photo credit Mark Senior.

Last night I witnessed one of those lines: ‘Maybe it will help her see Hitler in a jollier way’. Spoken, of course, by one of Nazi sympathising Mitfords in  Richard Beecham’s new play about their lives The Party Girls, this sentiment will stay with me for a very long time. The socialite sisters – Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah – dazzled 20th century aristocratic society with their harshly opposing political and social views. Communist activist Jessica (Emma Noakes) contrasts discordantly with Hitler-obsessed Unity (Ell Potter)  and Diana (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh), paramour of fascist leader Oswald Moseley, leading to a sibling showdown of Noel and Liam proportions.

Joe Coen as Bob. Photo credit Mark Senior.
Joe Coen as Bob. Photo credit Mark Senior.

The natural exuberance and charisma of all the girls – including those with questionable views – make it hit like a champagne bottle over the head when they spout their outrageous opinions. Alongside the ‘jolly Hitler’ quote sat ‘darling Goebbels lent us his house’ and ‘he [Hitler] has the loveliest eyes’. In an age where politicians teeter between absurdity and outrage, it’s astonishing to think these extremist views - especially when uttered by charming young things of the interwar period - still have the power to shock a modern audience.

The Mitford Sisters. Photo credit Mark Senior.
The Mitford Sisters. Photo credit Mark Senior.

Most chilling of all is Diana, whose satin gowns and chic Chanel twinsets hide an unwavering commitment to fascism and unapologetic racist dogma. The juxtaposition of gentility and despotism is monstrous, played with subtlety by Dermot Walsh until the final confrontation with the highly-principled Jessica lifts the curtain on her bigotry.


Elisabeth Dermot Walsh as Diana and Ell Potter as Unity - credit Mark Senior.
Elisabeth Dermot Walsh as Diana and Ell Potter as Unity - credit Mark Senior.

This is the calling card of  Amy’ Rosenthal’s sharply written, visually lush stage production. In resurrecting the glitz and glamour of the Mitfords, she does not shy away from their less savoury and subversive history. This is not just a stylish period drama -it’s an exploration of the darkest contradictions in family values and how identical upbringings can set the foundation for wholly different directions. We can only hope we take the right route – in other words, in a world of Dianas, be a Jessica.



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