by Ian Diddams
images by Ian Diddams, Play on Words Theatre, and Devizes Arts Festival
Who was paying attention in history at school when they covered the Tudors? Hmmm? Anyone? Yes – you at the back – you did? Swot! I have a vague recollection of a thirteen-year-old me, pre O-Level options, quasi snoozing through something about lots of people with the same name – Mary this, and Mary that, and Mary Queen of Scots who was at least more memorable, if only because she had her noggin removed. I dropped history when it came to O-Level options, so my knowledge of the Tudors stopped there and then, although I did manage to understand when an American, I was playing “Trivial Pursuit” with back in the late 80s read from the card “What two door battleship sank in the Solent”; the answer of course being the Mary Rose. My how we chortled.
Fast forward some fifty years almost and thanks to the wonderful people that are Devizes Art Festival, I was able to improve my knowledge significantly on a small part of the Tudor dynasty – though in fairness the bar was very low to start with. “Play on Words Theatre” visited the Wharf Theatre as part of D.A.F. with the phenomenal Miriam Cooper, to portray the lives and relationships of two queens from that family – Queen Elizabeth the First of England, and Mary, Queen of Scots. The two queens were first cousins, once removed with a shared ancestor of Henry VII, but despite this close familial relationship, and reasonably close distance between London and Edinburgh, the two never actually met until Mary fled Scotland following a revolt, where Elizabeth basically imprisoned her for nineteen years before finally having her head cut off.
The one woman, seventy minute play delves into these lives as Miriam portrays not only the cousins but also a handful of other characters to flesh the story out. A chessboard stone floor and basic set of chair, shrine and tables with some excellent lighting and sound from the tech team provides a more than adequate setting for the tale of desperation, hope, chicanery and power struggles between reigns and imprisonment for them both. The political chicanery of the period was complex, and no doubt the truth rather depends on whose side one takes, but the play rattles along attempting to be fair to both women, neither praising nor condemning their actions, words and deeds.
The actual history one can find in a plethora of places online, in books, films, TV documentaries and so on, so I’ll leave you to educate yourselves if that is your wont. But if you caught this show, or can do so as it continues to tour, you’ll get a good head start into it all.
Oh – and what of prostitutes? And marriage? In May? Mary utters the line towards the end of the play to describe the entangled complications of her, and Elizabeth’s lives apart but together. So, apologies for anybody that was hoping for some spicy extracurricular activity …
Devizes arts Festival continues with multifarious offerings until 15th June and details and tickets can be found at https://www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk/events/
Play on Words Theatre continue to tour “Prostitutes Marry In May” and further details can be found at https://playonwordstheatre.com/navigation-mary/tickets-mary/
devizine.com 