Prostitutes Marry in May: Two Queens, One Nation

Synopsis

In this play of passion and treachery we witness the unavoidable collision between dynamic sovereigns: Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, which shaped the destiny of the thrones of Scotland and England. Enter the prison and the courts, private chambers and public processions as you journey with the cousins who called themselves Sister Queens. It is a tale that has ignited the imagination for centuries.

Our Review:

23 June 2011

The relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots has been well documented and explored many times on stage and screen, but a one-woman representation of the two queens and their relationship is an unusual event. Miriam Cooper, the writer and performer of Prostitutes Marry In May, brings the women to life through significant moments in their childhood and adult lives, interwoven with the political intrigues at the Tudor court and the influence of the men in their lives. Eventually, of course, Elizabeth is persuaded that Mary threatens to depose her as Queen of England and signs her death warrant, an act Cooper rightly portrays as the devastating betrayal of a family member as much as the act of a monarch.

Cooper is undoubtedly a talented writer and actor and Jonathan Kemp's direction gives the play pace and energy. The work takes as its source the letters and other material housed at the Maritime Museum in Greenwich, using the thoughts and w...

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