Elizabeth Rex

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Elizabeth Rex is a play by Timothy Findley.

One of the play's central themes is challenging notions of gender; the primary dramatic focus is the interaction between Elizabeth I of England, the queen often said to have ruled like a man, with Ned Lowenscroft, a Shakespearean actor who specializes in playing women's roles. In one of the play's central lines, Elizabeth says to the actor, "if you will teach me how to be a woman, I will teach you how to be a man."

This play takes place in two different barns on the night before the execution of the earl of Essex. There is a curfew on that night because the authorities are afraid that there will be riots.

The play premiered at the Stratford Festival of Canada in 2000, starring Diane D'Aquila and Brent Carver. It also won the 2000 Governor General's Award for English language drama.

In 2007, it received its Australian premiere from the Canberra Repertory Society. In 2008, it received its French-language premiere (Elizabeth, roi d'Angleterre) at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal, translated by René-Daniel Dubois. [1] as well as it's New York City Premiere at the Nicu's Spoon Theater Company in, New York City.