Mary Stuart

Description

'Scotland may be a savage nation, Lady, but the English wash their hands in blood.' Mary Stuart tells the story of the personal struggle between two extraordinary women - one French, one English - both captive to the demands of sovereignty and both caught in a tumult of political and religious intrigue. Which of them is the rightful Queen of England - Mary Stuart or Elizabeth Tudor? Mary Stuart, written in 1800 by Friedrich Schiller, is presented in this new version by Mike Poulton following his Don Carlos for Sheffield/West End. The play was produced at Clwyd Theatr Cymru 7-30 May 2009. 'Magnificent . . . Mike Poulton's fleet and vivid translation . . . all the deftly plotted twists and turns of a thriller. You lean forward in your seat, desperate to discover what happens next . . . a masterpiece' Daily Telegraph on Mike Poulton's version of Schiller's Don Carlos.

Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) was a German playwright and historian, widely regarded as the national dramatist of Germany and second only to Goethe in importance. His plays include The Robbers, William Tell, The Wallenstein Trilogy and Mary Stuart.Mike Poulton has had a number of highly successful versions of classic works of drama and literaure produced, including Schiller's Don Carlos, Ibsen's Romersholm and a stage version of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

'If Shakespeare's historical dramas hold a mirror to our national virtues, Schiller presents a reflection that is rather less flattering.' * Alfred Hickling, Guardian, 19.5.09 * 'In Mike Poulton's vibrant new version, England emerges as a paranoid state on high-security alert, where the detention of suspects does not bear very close scrutiny.' * Alfred Hickling, Guardian, 19.5.09 * 'A lean new version by Mike Poulton, sets bare-knuckle rhetoric racing across the stage... It's brilliantly undiplomatic, a disastrous triumph.' * David Jays, Times Online, 17.5.09 * 'A new version, by Mike Poulton, of Friedrich Schiller's 200-year-old masterpiece Mary Stuart...offers a rich dish to tempt audiences; spiced with sex, studded with intrigue and larded with betrayal... It's a mark of a good play that, although we know the tragic ending, the action still makes us hope it may be different this time.' * Gail Cooper, Wales Online, 18.5.09 *