It’s not every day that someone dressed as the Queen of England curses you out, so street drummers in London got quite a surprise on Saturday.  Helen Mirren, decked out in her Queen Elizabeth II costume, gave the performers a moment to remember when she burst outside a theater and yelled at them.

Mirren was performing as the Queen in “The Audience,” a play about Queen Elizabeth II and several prime ministers, when she lost her composure during the first act due to the excessive noise.  The music was penetrating the walls of the theater and was making it impossible for the actors to deliver their lines and for the audience to enjoy the performance.  Mirren took matters into her own hands and walked right off the stage mid-performance to give the drummers a piece of her mind.

The drummers were performing outside to raise awareness for a gay music festival when Mirren stepped out and told them to “shut the (expletive) up.”

They did.  After all, who wants to argue with a cranky queen?

Mirren later admitted to feeling bad about how she treated the street drummers.  “I felt rotten but on the other hand they were destroying our performance so something had to be done.”  The actress also admitted that a few “thespian” words were used when she addressed the musicians.

Mirren has extended an olive branch to the performers.  Not only has she said that she would like to track them down and offer them a chance to see her show, she is also helping promote their music festival.  Mirren also donned a shirt that showed a picture of a drum with the words, “Yes please! Just not outside a theatre!”

Mark Williams, an organizer of the festival, has apologized for disrupting Mirren’s performance and has invited her to come to the event.  The Dame has also been asked to come on stage and repeat what she said to the drummers–if she does, the group will make a donation to a charity of her choice.  Mirren hasn’t accepted the offer yet, but considering she is helping promote the festival now, one can imagine that she will make an appearance if her schedule allows.

In the meantime, Mirren will continue with performing in “The Audience,” which will last at least through mid-June.  Mirren recently won the Olivier Award for her performance in “The Audience.” This isn’t the first time Mirren has won an award for portraying Queen Elizabeth II–in 2006, she won an Oscar for “Best Actress” for her performance in “The Queen.”