The Diana Story

Written by local playwright Helene Turnbull The Diana Story makes a dramatic speculation on the friendship between Diana, Princess of Wales and Mother Teresa cemented by their passion to eradicate land mines across the globe.
Reaching beyond the media circus that has continued to exploit them Turnbull tells the quiet compassionate story of two women’s struggle against a world of adversity to make a real difference


Directed by Matthew Greseth



Starring Emily Blanchard as Diana Princess of Wales and Tina Sigel as Mother Teresa (Pictured Right)

Also appearing:
Alexis Clarksean, George M. Calger, Devon Flaherty, Nate Hessburg, Jay Melchior, Marcia Svaleson,and Kaitlin Ziehr

To Listen to the MPR Story Click HERE!





"I hope that 5 means the best rating that I can give. Tina Sigel was outstanding in her performance as Mother Teresa! The Eastern European accent, the body language, the drama, I thought that I was witnessing the real Nobel Prize winner in the flesh. The entire cast and crew did a fabulous job. Until I saw this play, I didn't realize the connection that these two great woman shared in trying to make this world a better place. Bravo to local playwright, Helene Turnbull for her diligent research and for helping to bring this story live to the stage. "The Diana Story" is a must see!"
- Jeff Amstrup


"I am not an artist of any sort, but here goes. It is a wonderful portrayal of the unique relationship of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa and their struggles to find themselves and their purpose. Diana on the one hand lives a life of luxury, expected to keep quiet and fill the role of princess while she knows full well that her husband is having an affair. Despite the persistent obstinacies and uneasiness of a meeting between Diana and Mother Teresa by the English palace and government; Diana visits Mother Teresa and their relationship is solidified. Though it is a slow start, the play does an exceptional job of showing the evolution of timid Princess Diana into a strong and confident woman and Princess. Though Mother Teresa does not suffer the same obstacles, the play portrays her as woman confused about her relationship with God. Though she has spent the better portion of her life serving the needs of others she does not see the light at the end of the tunnel, in fact she sees only more war, starvation, and poverty. She begins to question whether God is hearing her prayers and if there even exists a God who can hear her prayers. The entire cast does a spectacular job, but the actress' playing Mother Teresa and Diana deserve special recognition. This was the first play I have been to in years and I don’t know much about either women, but it was entertaining, engaging, and moving."
- Dan McGraw


"I enjoyed the show and thought the production and the acting were very well done. The nightmare scene was very effective. Overall, the show moved along at a good pace. A lot of the dialogue was very good. The part of Diana’s manager/scheduler was especially well written. However, there were several spots, I’m sorry to say, where the dialogue sounded like it was lifted from a corporate PowerPoint presentation. Specifically, at the very beginning, Mother Theresa refers to Diana’s potential to be a “cutting edge” advocate or spokesperson for good causes. That sounded to me like pure corporate jargon—as if she was talking about a new version of software. Although Mother Theresa was a shrewd and worldly person, I can’t imagine her using a term like “cutting edge.” Another example is late in the play when John is talking to Hector. He says something about “conditions could worsen.” A news report might say that, but normal people don’t talk like that, especially an adult speaking to a small boy. There were other occasions as well where long, polysyllabic words came out of the mouths of characters and I couldn’t believe for a second that they would actually talk like that. It sounded like a news report or people talking in a business conference call. At times it was a little hard to follow the story. I was forced to try to remember what was happening to Diana at the time and to remember what was in the headlines and tabloids. I think if a person wasn’t pretty familiar with the story already, it would be tough to understand what was going on. Also, in the exorcism scene, I didn’t know what was going on until they actually started the exorcism. I just wished Mother Theresa would quit her whining. I hope this doesn’t sound too harsh. I enjoyed the play and it held my attention. But I think a few small edits could make it more believable and more engaging. I hope Helene Turnbull keeps at it and I hope you folks keep putting on new plays. Thanks for an enjoyable night of theater."
- Paul Bard

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Photo of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa Copyright 1998 Reuters/Mike Segar/Archive Photos All Rights Reserved

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