Nearly a quarter of a century after her death, it is adaptations of her life such as Diana: The Musical that make you wonder why we cannot let the late Princess of Wales just rest in peace. If you were wondering at which point we had taken it too far, this is it. Right here. This is too far.

Netflix released this peculiar work created by Joe DiPietro (Memphis) and Bon Jovi’s keyboardist David Bryan on October 1, and its nine per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes’ tomatometer speaks for itself – the show has hardly been received well. 

Even having the musical assembled by star-studded talent such as Tony Award-winning director of Come From Away Christopher Ashley could not save the production from its crash-landing of a release.

With the success of the platform's other Diana-related content such as The Crown, it comes as no surprise that Netflix would quickly form a contract with the creators of a musical based on Diana’s life. Her story and rise to fame is the gold good musicals are made of. But, Diana: The Musical could not have been a more disappointing shortfall.

This kitsch adaptation, with its creative licence and historical inaccuracy, reeks of an American creation. Demonstrating little-to-no understanding of the Royal Family or the British, this theatre fan was forced to wonder whether the production even had a dramaturg to up the realism of the depiction.  

The musical begins with an introduction to a young Diana (Jeanna de Waal) and questionably friendly Camilla Parker Bowles (Erin Davie) in an interaction which makes audiences doubt the authenticity and accuracy of the work from the outset.

In a scene featuring the pair, Diana is heard saying “it’s such a posh party – I’m used to talking to five year olds”, something which calls to question what the creators’ threshold is for ‘posh’. Princess Diana was, after all, the daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer and therefore Lady Diana Spencer. This placed her far above the average Briton when it came to social status.

This idea of her being a commoner is reiterated a few times throughout the first half of the musical, with Diana singing before her wedding “an unknown nervous girl, how did you get this far”? Who wants to tell the creators that the Spencer family had extensive connections to the royal family, with Diana’s sister Sarah dating Prince Charles before her and her younger brother’s godmother being Queen Elizabeth II herself?

On top of this, Diana is quickly painted as an uncultured and naïve teenage girl, particularly in the Act One number This is How Your People Dance. With its out of place choreography, it is hard to believe that the song’s portrayal of Diana as someone who couldn’t enjoy Bach’s Cello Suite No 1 in G Major Prelude is faithful to reality. 

The only redeeming elements of this production are arguably the sets and costumes, which beautifully paint the world of Diana for audiences. Albeit with some non-traditional colours in the instance of scenes within the palace walls.  

The show’s transitions and scene changes remain reminiscent of shows with younger and more light-hearted subject-matters such as Legally Blonde or Hairspray, but with very little of the same skill. It is overall quite confusing to observe. Am I watching a hip up-beat pop musical, or the story of the late Diana?

The musical’s lyrics also prove to underperform. Throughout the production audiences are treated to Diana describing herself as “naive” and a “ninny”, and even the show’s chorus chasing after Diana as paparazzi singing the profound lyrics “better than a Guinness, better than a wank/ Snap a few pics, it’s money in the bank”. 

Instead of quality lyricism, it appears the show’s writers were more focussed on maintaining end-rhyme than producing memorable and quality music.

However, in a musical of underwhelming songwriting, Diana (The Rage) is a memorable show highlight. With similar energy to Les Misérables’ The Confrontation and Legally Blonde’s duet Legally Blonde, the song is arguably the best written piece and features enjoyable melodies and lyricism. It's unfortunate that this one song is not enough to save the production. 

Musical theatre lovers, Diana fans and royalists alike will love to hate this Netflix release. Worthy of a comical hate-watch, the production can only be viewed as a flawed and ill-advised attempt at stirring up interest in the in-person version of the Broadway production set to reopen next month. Granted, this would have been a fantastic scheme if the show was good – but alas, it is not. 

The show seems to follow the same narrative trajectory to the hit 2012 series SMASH’s fictitious musical Bombshell, which unfolds the life of Marilyn Monroe. It starts with a similar opening showcasing the lead actress singing by herself and narrating, before ending with a musical number about her legacy after death. 

Similarly, the creators of Diana: The Musical could also be said to have attempted to replicate the magic of Hamilton’s Who Lives Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story in the way the characters discuss the final years of Diana’s life and her legacy. However, this rushed ending feels more like a quick attempt to wrap up the show and does not have the same impact as the 11-time Tony award-winning production of Hamilton.

This two hour musical is bizarre from start to finish and is delightfully terrible. From questionable accents, a Professor Umbridge-esque rendition of the Queen, a parody-like energy and regularly out-of-place inappropriate language for the subject matter (for example Diana singing about her “feckity-feckity-feckity-feckity feck you dress”), this production will inevitably fuel the passion of musical theatre haters everywhere.