Mary, Queen of England gets some
good press. It comes from Kate Hennig in her play Mother’s Daughter now
playing in the Studio Theatre in Stratford.
Hennig has given us The
Last Wife about Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth spouse and The
Virgin Trial about the troubles of Elizabeth I before she succeeded to
the throne. Mother’s Daughter is about Elizabeth’s half-sister and
predecessor Queen Mary who has earned the unfortunate soubriquet of Bloody
Mary. Do not confuse her with Mary Queen of Scots.
Mary’s mother was Katherine of
Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife and as the title suggests we get a double
portrait of the two queens. Hennig gives us a largely positive portrait of Mary
brilliantly acted by Shannon Taylor. Mary is intelligent, resolute, attractive,
merciful, scrupulous and tolerant. Not all at once and not all the time but we
do see these traits in her. Dressed in a long skirt and white blouse at the
beginning and donning a military uniform and boots later in the play, Mary
never veers from being independent, assertive and self-assured.
From left: Irene Poole as Catalina, Shannon Taylor as Mary and Jessica B. Hill as Anne
in Mother's Daughter. Photography by David Hou.
She must deal with her mother Katherine
who tells her that she is a figment of her imagination. Queen Katherine was
dumped by Henry after 23 years of marriage on the pretext that his marriage to
her was unlawful. She had been married to Henry’s brother when both were young,
and Henry found biblical support that the marriage was sinful. When he married her,
he found biblical support that marrying his brother’s widow was fine because
they had not consummated the marriage.
In the play Katherine also called
Catalina (played by Irene Poole) is a vengeful, angry and ruthless woman who
wants her daughter to restore Catholicism to England. Mary stands her ground
for tolerance and reconciliation, at least in the beginning.
Mary has two friends/advisors in
Bassett (Beryl Bain) and Susan (Maria Vacratsis) who provide contradictory
advice on what to do about rebellious subjects and competing claims to the crown.
She also has Simon (Gordon Patrick White) a friend, diplomat and messenger about
happenings in the outside world.
The immediate problem is what to
do with Lady Jane (Andrea Rankin), a teenager who has been given the throne,
and her relatives.
Then the major issue is dealing
with Princess Elizabeth (Jessica B. Hill) and her mother Anne Boleyn who, like Katherine
appears as a figment of the imagination or a ghost. Elizabeth and Anne are
played by the same actor. We see the animosities and difficult relationships
among the characters. Elizabeth wants the throne and Mary wants to circumvent
that by getting pregnant and providing an heir. Alas, it does not work, and
Mary is not ready to execute Elizabeth.
From left: Beryl Bain as Bassett, Shannon Taylor as Mary and Maria Vacratsis
as Susan in Mother's Daughter. Photography by David Hou.
The costumes are mostly modern or
non-descript and the language of the play is completely modern, colloquial with
frequent use of expletives. Expression like “gee, whiz” and “who is running the
joint?’ give the dialogue a less than elevated flavour at times but the pacing
of the arguments is brisk and often powerful. All handled well by director Alan
Dilworth but you do have to get used to modern, colloquial and at times salty English
spoken by 16th century characters in mostly modern dress.
The set by Lorenzo Savoini
consists of a large table and chair with border lights in the back and on the
stage in different colors designed by Kimberly Purtell.
Bloody Mary has been getting bad
press for more than four centuries, but recently more sympathetic reviews have
appeared. The fact remains that despite her self-described tolerance, she
became a tyrant and burned a few hundred Protestants at the stake.
In the final scene we see Mary
and Elizabeth standing posthumously in Westminster Abbey looking at the tomb
that the two of them share. Elizabeth became Gloriana, poor Mary remains bloody
while their cousin Mary, Queen of Scots is more famous than both largely because
she had her head chopped off. Sic passit gloria mundi.
We get a fascinating and
imaginative look at some English history mixed with some fiction but never
failing to entertain.
______________
Mother’s Daughter by Kate Hennig continues in repertory
until October 13, 2019 at the Studio Theatre. 34 George Street, Stratford,
Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca
James Karas is the Senior Editor – Culture of The Greek Press. www.greekpress.ca
James Karas is the Senior Editor – Culture of The Greek Press. www.greekpress.ca
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