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MARY STUART DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE
n the opening moments of
this play Lia Williams and
Juliet Stevenson step towards
each other at the front of the
stage. A member of the cast
spins a coin which decides
which of them will play
Elizabeth and who will play
Mary. It is an electrifying
moment and marvellous
theatre.
Friedrich Schiller’s play,
disastrously staged at the National
20 years ago, depicts the power
struggles of the period, the rivalries
between courtiers and the clash of
wills between its protagonists.
Mary, though imprisoned by
Elizabeth in Fotheringay Castle
after she fled from Scotland and
sought refuge in England, is the
freer spirit. An angst-ridden
Elizabeth is confronted with how to
cope with her and also how to be
rid of her as she is the focus of
Catholic plots to assassinate her.
Juliet Stevenson captures
Elizabeth’s changing moods, her
caprices, her vanity, her
ruthlessness and how the
challenges she faces affect her.
It is a fine, commanding
performance. As the play’s
eponymous heroine Lia Williams
has charm, an openness and a
sincerity which is deeply moving
but there is torment too as
nemesis moves ever closer. The
play is at its best when either or
both are on stage. Their fictional
meeting is its high point and is a
riveting confrontation.
The sparse but claustrophobic
setting is ideal for its mood and
the characters, often pacing
around it, seem confined
beneath it. The play runs for over
three hours and should have
been shorter. The supporting
cast are mainly well chosen.
Elliot Levey’s Burleigh is
perfection as Elizabeth’s ruthless
functionary. Michael Byrne as
Elizabeth’s faithful Talbot uses
his powerful voice to good effect.
Carmen Munroe’s nurse conveys
serenity amid the turmoil with
conviction. However Rudi
Dharmalingam’s Mortimer is
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miscast as he lacks the
emotional range this pivotal part
requires.
This was a tumultuous period
where England was threatened
by foreign powers and internal
insurrection supported by the
Pope. Among Elizabeth’s
countermeasures were regicide
using judicial murder. The plot
has echoes in our own time
when Britain also faces an
uncertain future, this time
Richard Fitzwilliams
outside of Europe. It ends with a
crime which has blackened
Elizabeth’s name ever since as
she knew it would. This tense
and dramatic play directed by
Robert Icke in modern dress lays
bare the dilemmas at the heart
of one of history’s most famous
royal rivalries.
I
Lia Willia