Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off

Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off is a play by Liz Lochhead. It explores the relationship between Elizabeth I of England and Mary Stuart. It is primarily written to be from a female point of view, and is considered to be Lochhead's most successful and critically acclaimed play.[1] According to the BBC website:

"[ Lochhead ] has the character of Elizabeth enact masculine types of behaviour (even appearing on stage in men’s clothes) as a means of representing the exclusion of feminine behaviour in the political realm. Mary, by contrast, wields a more conventionally feminine power, exploiting her sexuality and the emotional vulnerability associated with her sex in order to get her own way."[1]

It was first performed by the Communicado Theatre Company at the 1987 Edinburgh Festival.[2] Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off was broadcast as a radio play directed by Marilyn Imrie by BBC Radio 4 on 11 February 2001. It has more recently been revived on stage in 2011, and toured Scotland.[3][4]

"Once upon a time, there were twa queens on the wan green island, and the wan green island was split inty twa kingdoms. But no equal kingdoms."[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Writing Scotland - Liz Lochhead". BBC Two. BBC. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  2. ↑ British Council. "Liz Lochhead | British Council Literature". Literature.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  3. ↑ "Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off". www.lyceum.org.uk. 25 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Review: Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (Dundee Rep)". The Courier (DC Thomson). 2011-12-20. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  5. ↑ "Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off". Nationaltheatrescotland.com. Retrieved 2012-10-31.

External links