Corgi fired for disobeying Helen Mirren in 'The Audience'

Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Audience."

By David Ng

March 11, 2013 7:30 AM PT

One of Helen Mirren’s four-legged co-stars in the new play “The Audience” apparently has been fired after it failed to obey the actress’ royal commands in her role as Queen Elizabeth II. Britain’s Telegraph reported that a female corgi by the name of Lizzy was let go from the production during preview performances before the show officially opened.

Lizzy failed to heed Mirren’s command during a scene set in Balmoral, the British monarch’s retreat in Scotland. The dog was supposed to run across stage without a leash when called by the actress, but failed to do so during several previews.

The Telegraph reported that Lizzy, who is 7 years old, failed to obey the command on 16 consecutive performances. As a result, Lizzy was sacked and replaced with another dog, named Coco.

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Lizzy is now back home with her owner, according to the report.

“The Audience,” by Peter Morgan, is running at the Gielgud Theatre on London’s West End. The play will be broadcast to cinemas worldwide starting June 13 as part of the National Theatre Live series.

Mirren previously played the British monarch in the 2006 movie “The Queen,” which was also written by Morgan.

The new play follows the queen during her meetings with various prime ministers, including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. The queen has a well-documented fondness for corgis and has owned many during her reign.

The queen’s official website states that she owns two Corgis: Holly and Willow. The queen also has two Dorgis (a cross-breed of Dachshund and Corgi): Candy and Vulcan. One of her corgis, Monty, died at Balmoral in September at the age of 13.

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