Mary Stuart (Modern Plays)

'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.

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"Vibrant new version." -- The Guardian

"A lean new version by Mike Poulton, sets bare-knuckle rhetoric racing across the stage....It's brillantly undiplomatic, a disastrous triumph." -- The Times (of London) Online

--This text refers to the paperback edition. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805) ranks as one of the greatest figures in European drama and literature. That Verdi based four of his operas on Schiller's plays is not surprising (I masnadieri, Giovanna d'Arco, Luisa Miller, Don Carlos) . Both men were deeply preoccupied with the battle for political freedon, projecting the moral victory of the doomed individual over the power of the immutable State as potent historical drama. Schiller's nobility of theatrical concept perfectly suited the energy and majesty of Verdi's scores. Yet in the English-speaking world Schiller's works are comparatively little known to theatregoers. The dedication of the renowned Glasgow-based Citizens' Company and the inspired decision to present the plays alongside Verdi's operas at the Edinburgh International Festival have gone a long way to remedy this neglect. The fifth play included in this edition was the source fro the opera by Donizetti (Maria Stuarda) . Also translated for the Citizens' Company by Robert David MacDonald, Schiller's 'Mary Stuart' is acknowldged masterpiece.

Mike Poulton has had a number of highly successful versions of classic works of drama and literaure produced, including Turgenev's Fortune's Fool (which won a Tony in New York) , Schiller's Don Carlos, Ibsen's Romersholm and a stage version of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. --This text refers to the paperback edition. Read more Continue reading Read less