Mary Stuart a play by
Friedrich SchillerJohann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, depicts the last days of Mary, Queen of Scots. The play consists of five acts, each divided into several scenes. The play had its première in Weimar, Germany on 14 June 1800. The play formed the basis for Donizetti's opera
Maria StuardaMaria Stuarda is a tragic opera, , in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play Maria Stuart....
(1834).
Plot summary
Mary Stuart is imprisoned in England - nominally for the murder of her husband Darnley, but actually due to her claim to the throne of England held by Queen
Elizabeth IElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. While Mary's cousin, Elizabeth, hesitates over signing Mary's death sentence, Mary hopes for a reprieve.
After Mary finds out that Mortimer (created by Schiller), the nephew of her custodian, is on her side, she entrusts her life to him. Mortimer is supposed to give
Robert Dudley, the Earl of LeicesterRobert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
a letter from Mary, in which she pleads for help. This is a delicate situation, for Leicester seems to support Queen Elizabeth.
After numerous requests, Mary finally gains the opportunity to meet Queen Elizabeth (something that, in reality, never happened). This meeting ends in an acrimonious argument, caused by Mary's unwillingness to submit entirely to Elizabeth's wish. The argument leads to the inevitable suspicion that the cause of reprieve will not succeed.
To complicate matters further, Mortimer plans to free Mary from the prison by force, a dramatized version of the unsuccessful
Babington PlotThe Babington Plot was a Catholic plot in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, on the English throne. It led to the execution of Mary. The long-term goal was an invasion by the Spanish forces of King Philip II and the Catholic league in...
, but when his attempt is found out he commits suicide.
Queen Elizabeth eventually persuades herself to sign Mary's death warrant. Elizabeth insists that her only reason for signing is the pressure from her own people to do so.
The signed warrant is handed to Queen Elizabeth's undersecretary Davison without any clear instructions on what to do with it. In the process, Elizabeth transfers the burden of responsibility to him, fully aware that he in turn will hand over the warrant to Lord Burleigh, and thus confirm Mary's death sentence.
Burleigh demands the signed document from Davison, who - despite his uncertainty - eventually hands it to him. As a result, Burleigh has Mary executed.
The play ends with Elizabeth blaming both Burleigh and Davison for Mary's death (banishing the former from court and having the latter imprisoned in the Tower), Lord Shrewsbury (who pleaded for mercy for Mary throughout the play) resigning his honors and Leicester leaving England for France. Elizabeth is left completely alone as the curtain falls.
Recent stage history
Mary Stuart, which holds a place in the opera repertory in Donizetti's version, can still hold the stage in its original -as demonstrated in its successful production, in
Peter OswaldPeter Osvald is a well-known English playwright. He is married to the poet Alice Oswald, with whom he has three children. They live in Devon, South West England....
's new translation, in a run of July 14 through September 3, 2005 at the
Donmar WarehouseDonmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
directed by
Phyllida LloydPhyllida Lloyd CBE is an English director, best known for her work in theatre and as the director of the most financially successful British film ever released, Mamma Mia!.-Career:...
and starring
Janet McTeerJanet McTeer, OBE is a British actress.-Life and career:McTeer was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom, the daughter of Jean and Alan McTeer...
as Mary, Queen of Scots and
Harriet WalterDame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE is a British actress.-Personal life:She is the niece of renowned British actor Sir Christopher Lee, as the daughter of his elder sister Xandra Lee. On her father's side she is a great-great-great-granddaughter of John Walter, founder of The TimesShe was educated at...
as Elizabeth of England; the production transferred to the
Apollo TheatreThe Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
in London’s
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, where it also played a sold-out engagement from October 7 to January 14, 2006. The production opened on
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
on March 30, 2009 (previews), officially April 19, for a limited engagement through August 16.It earned seven
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations including
Best Revival of a PlayThe Tony Award for Best Revival has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival...
.
The
L.A. Theatre WorksL.A. Theatre Works is a non-profit media arts organization based in Los Angeles.- History :Founded in 1974, the organization was originally called “Artists in Prison,” and used theatre as a means to provide a voice to incarcerated men and women who were traditionally unheard and underserved. In...
mounted a production of the
Peter OswaldPeter Osvald is a well-known English playwright. He is married to the poet Alice Oswald, with whom he has three children. They live in Devon, South West England....
translation in 2007 directed by
Rosalind AyresRosalind Ayres is an English actress. Active since 1970, Ayres may be best known by a wide audience for her role was in the 1997 film Titanic, in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon....
which was recorded on CD {ISBN 978-1580813754) and featured
Alex KingstonAlexandra Elizabeth "Alex" Kingston is an English actress. She is most widely known for her roles as Dr. Elizabeth Corday on the NBC medical drama ER and as River Song in Doctor Who.-Early life and education:...
as Mary,
Jill GascoineJill Gascoine is a British actress and novelist. She is most widely known for her role as Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the 1980s television series The Gentle Touch and its spin-off series C.A.T.S. Eyes...
as Elizabeth,
Martin JarvisMartin Jarvis OBE is an English actor.-Early life:Jarvis is the son of Denys Harry Jarvis and Margot Lillian Scottney, and grew up in South Norwood and Sanderstead, South Croydon.-Education:...
as Burleigh,
Simon TemplemanSimon Templeman is an English voice actor known for his role as Kain in the video game series "Legacy of Kain", and as Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir in Dragon Age: Origins. He is also known as Simon Templeton. He is married to character actress Rosalind Chao with whom he has a son and daughter.- Animated...
as Leicester, Ken Danziger as Paulet,
W. Morgan SheppardWilliam Morgan Sheppard , sometimes credited as Morgan Sheppard or W. Morgan Sheppard, is a British actor.Sheppard was born in London to an Anglo-Irish family but was educated in Ireland. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 1956-58 before spending 12 years as Associate Artist with...
as Talbot,
Christopher NeameChristopher Neame is an English actor.-Education:Neame was educated at The King's School, Canterbury, an independent school in Canterbury in Kent.-Life and career:...
as Davison, Shellagh Cullen as Hanna Kennedy and
Seamus DeverSeamus Patrick Dever is an American actor.Dever was born in Flint, Michigan, and grew up in Bullhead City, Arizona. He graduated as valedictorian of his high school class, completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona University, and holds MFAs in Acting from the Moscow Art Theatre and...
as Mortimer.
Mortimer's on-stage suicide has had its dangers. On 6 December 2008, German actor
Daniel HoevelsDaniel Hoevels is a Swedish-born German theater actor. Hamburger Abendblatt has described his work as helping critics rediscover Hamburg's theater...
slit his neck while playing Mortimer in
Mary Stuart. His character's suicide scene was to feature a dull knife, which became damaged and was replaced by a sharp one. The Thalia Theater company had requested that the sharp one be dulled too, though this was "carelessly" disregarded. The near-fatal knife was bought at a local store and reportedly still contained a price tag.
Important characters
- Queen Elizabeth I
- Mary Stuart (Queen of Scotland)
- Earl of Leicester (Robert Dudley
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
)
- Earl of Shrewsbury (George Talbot
George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal was a 16th century English statesman.-Life:...
)
- Lord Burleigh
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
- Wilhelm Davison
William Davison was secretary to Queen Elizabeth I. He played a key functional role in the 1587 execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and was made the scapegoat for this event in British history.-Court official:...
(undersecretary)
- Amias Paulet
Sir Amias Paulet was an English diplomat, Governor of Jersey, and the gaoler for a period of Mary, Queen of Scots.-Life:...
(Mary’s warder)
- Mortimer, Amias' nephew (not a historical figure)
- Hanna Kennedy (not a historical figure)
External links
(English translation)