Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off

This 1987 work by the former Makar Liz Lochead dramatizes the well known conflict between the ”twa queens on the wan green island” at the end of the Tudor era – Elizabeth the First of England and Mary, Queen of Scots. The action takes place mainly in the respective courts of their Majesties using the language of the time – “proper” English in London and broad Scots in Edinburgh – which caused the occasional hesitancy in delivery by some of the actors when changing characters between one nationality and the other, as all played multiple roles, though on the whole the broad Scots was handled well. The actors playing the Queens – Fiona Chapman as Elizabeth and Rosalyn Paton – gave commanding performances as one would expect in the regal roles but also gave each other strong support when they transitioned into each other’s respective maids Bessie (Mary’s) and Marian (Elizabeth’s). They also easily transitioned further down the social scale when they became the common whores Leezie and Mairn in a scene with John Knox! Rosalyn also had the additional burden of her dialogue in the first act being in Scots delivered with a French accent which she handled well. The casting of Mary’s two husbands - Henry, Lord Darnley (Euan Sinclair) and Jamie, Earl O’ Bothwell (Trevor Nicol) - was excellent as the two actors not only looked physically dissimilar but both portrayed the differences in their respective characters extremely well – Darnley, young, gangly, weak and Bothwell, older, mature, powerful. Tom Masterton as John Knox gave a strong portrayal of the hectoring preacher as he ranted against the “monstrous regiment of women” and also strong support in the lesser roles of Ambassadors and Mummer. Lawrence Robins-Bird gave strong support in his roles as Mary’s typewriter-bashing secretary Riccio and as one of the Ambassadors. Strong support was also given by Jay Macgregor and Christine Fletcher in their roles as Commoners/Mummers/Advisors. The final act where all the characters become children playing games all with a theme of Mary Queen of Scots was delightfully played by all. Narration throughout was delivered by the excellent Morag Barron and Eddie Docherty as the hooded craws La Corbie and Le Corbie respectively. The set was a simple box set elegantly decorated to represent the courts and with the use of simple props and atmospheric lighting by David Russell moved easily between locations. The costuming of all the characters was exceptionally accurate for the 15th century setting. Incidental music, edited and arranged by David Russell, was made up of traditional English, Scots and Irish songs and the courtly dances were choreographed by Caroline Nicol. This powerful play was delivered with just the right amount of drama and comedy. Congratulations to all involved on an excellent production.

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