the titular play "queen anne", written by the playwright helen edmundson, dramatizes the relationship between anne and sarah, duchess of marlborough, as well as the court politics and succession issues of anne's court. it was first produced by the royal shakespeare company at the swan theatre, stratford-upon-avon between november, 2015 and january, 2016, before opening at the theatre royal, haymarket in london, where it ran between june and september 2017.