LORD OF THE FLIES

Written by William Goulding

Adapted by Nigel Williams

Directed by Caitlin Baker & Lachlan Houen

Canberra REP at the Canberra REP Theatre, Acton to 10 August

 

Reviewed by Len Power 26 July 2024

 

First published in 1954, William Goulding’s “Lord Of The Flies” became a best-selling novel which has also been filmed. It’s long been a choice for reading in schools, and it remains a popular and well-known novel.

Stranded on a remote island after a plane crash, a group of English schoolboys try to govern themselves with disastrous results. The story challenges our ideas about civility and chaos as well as morality and the power of leadership.

Adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams, the play is a good choice for the dramatic opportunities it gives a young cast.

However, the decision by the directors to cast females to play male characters is distracting and confusing with most of these cast members struggling to find valid characterizations.

Only Winsome Oglivie convinced as schoolboy, Piggy. Her strong, thoughtful performance showed that gender changing can work if the actor is skilful enough to play the internal and external aspects required by the character.

Joshua James gave a good performance as Ralph, the schoolboy who tried to reason with democracy and kindness. His sensitive performance made the problems he faced more gripping and real as the play progressed.

Ty McKenzie as Jack began well but needed to find more ways to express anger as the frustration and aggression of his character grew. His continual shouting became tiresome. Characterizations of most of the cast needed more depth.

The atmospheric island set with its various acting levels and spaces, designed by Michael Sparks, should have given the directors plenty of choices for staging, but the action often seemed too restricted where it was played on the set, making it look unconvincing.

The continual drumming behind the action in the second act made it sound like an old Tarzan movie and you wondered if, maybe, there were other people on the island after all. If all the survivors were onstage, who was drumming?

The final scene with the appearance of the naval officer was melodramatic. It was never made clear when the action of the play took place and the 1950s-sounding authority of the naval officer barking commands, which the boys dutifully and silently obeyed, seemed unrealistic, producing unbelieving laughter from the audience.

This was not the strong and believable theatre experience it should have been.

 

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/. 

Lord of the Flies

 

 

Lord of the Flies by William Golding adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams.  Canberra REP July 25 – August 10, 2024.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
July 26

Directed by: Caitlin Baker and Lachlan Houen
Voice and Performance Coach: Sarah Chalmers
Set Designer: Michael Sparks OAM
Lighting Designer: Chris Ellyard; Sound Designer: Neville Pye
Costume Coordinator: Antonia Kitzel

Cast:
Ralph – Joshua James; Jack – Ty McKenzie; Piggy – Winsome Ogilvie
Simon – Lily Willmott; Roger – Robert Kjellgren; Sam – Brandon Goodwin
Eric – Zoë Ross; Maurice – Alex Wilson; Henry – Phoebe Silberman
Perceval – Tara Saxena; Naval Officer – John Stead; Bill – Caitlin Baker

Canberra REP have been brave to take on Lord of the Flies with a young cast who have produced a worthy result.  It is an exercise not only in giving up-and-coming actors an opportunity to gain experience in a substantial work, but in providing us all with a reminder of the possibilities and the weaknesses of human society in the real world.

Golding’s novel is an allegorical fiction – that is, it is a story which parallels real life.  It works well in that form because while reading and turning pages (or screens), our imaginations visualise what is happening, our feelings are engaged in response, and our intellect makes the connections between the fiction and fact.

On stage the designers and actors do the imagining for us.  We see and hear what’s happening.  Our feelings are as much engaged in responding to how effectively the staging and acting is done, as they are in response to the story; while our intellect may catch on to some of the meaning as the action goes on regardless, outside our control.  

Adapting Golding’s story for stage, unfortunately, results in long periods of young people yelling at each other, without enough of the character development and variety of volume and intensity levels which I remember imagining when I first read the novel as a teenager soon after it was published in 1954.

The value in Canberra REP presenting Lord of the Flies is the strength of the allegory and our need to come to terms with the truth that we humans are lost on our Island Earth, and have never learned to manage intransigent ‘leaders’ who tell us to go back to where you came from; who manipulate us into ritual dancing which turns into ritual killings; and who steal the fire from those who would be responsible citizens.

Though I can’t say I exactly ‘enjoyed’ Lord of the Flies, I can say that there were some dramatically strong points, such as the deathly silence as it was realised that Lily Willmott’s Simon was dead; and the anguish expressed in horror by Joshua James’ Ralph at the very end of everything.  

And though there was a laugh at John Stead’s Naval Officer berating the British boys for not behaving well as British boys should, it didn’t take much imagination to realise that there’s no-one out there to come and rescue us on Planet Earth.

So REP’s production of Lord of the Flies is certainly worthwhile going to see.

BOMBSHELLS - Echo Theatre

 

Lainie Hart as Zoe in "Bombshells.

Written by Joanna Murray-Smith – Directed by Jordan Best

Set and props designed by Roz Hall – Costumes designed by Jens Nordstrom

Sound Design by Jordan Best – Lighting design by Jacob Aquilina

Choreography for Zoe by Jenna Roberts and Lainie Hart

 Choreography for Mary by Nathan Rutups and Sally Taylor

Q Theatre, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 18^th – 27^th July, 2024.

Performance on July 25^th reviewed by BILL STEPHENS

Originally written by Joanna Murray-Smith as a one-woman show to showcase the virtuosity of Australian show-biz legend, Caroline O’Connor, “Bombshells” was performed around the country with great success by O’Connor, whose performance was filmed and broadcast by the ABC. 

A later production, also in the one-woman format, enjoyed a successful season in the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney starring Sharon Millerchip who had previously starred opposite O’Conner in a national tour of the musical “Chicago”. 

Jordan Best’s idea to localise the six monologues that make up the piece and divide them between six local actresses has resulted with a handsomely mounted, delightfully entertaining show, which deserves a wide audience.

Each of the monologues focuses on a different aspect of each woman’s life.

Amy Kowalczuk as Meryl in "Bombshells"

Meryl is a housewife on the point of a nervous breakdown almost overwhelmed trying to meet her own expectations of being the perfect wife and mother.

In a poignant performance by Amy Kowalczuk, Meryl verbalises her thoughts while desperately breast-feeding her infant baby, trying to cope with her demanding, inquisitive daughter, and attempting to get the housework completed and dinner prepared before her perfect husband arrives home from work.  Her situation is almost too sad to laugh at, but because of Murray-Smith’s razor -sharp dialogue, it is impossible not to.

Kate Harris as Tiggy in "Bombshells"

Tiggy, played by Kate Harris, is in the midst of giving a lecture about her hobby, growing cacti. However Tiggy is having marital problems and her thoughts keep returning to those problems while she desperately tries to keep her lecture on track.

Sally Taylor as Mary in "Bombshells"

Mary, played by Sally Taylor, is a student who has dreams of becoming a star of musical theatre. She’s entered a dance competition, convinced that winning the competition will make her a star.

Confident she has more talent than Liza Minelli and therefore a shoe-in to win, she demonstrates her competition piece, “Macavity’s Solo” from Cats, only to discover that her arch-rival has chosen the same solo. In desperation she decides to choreograph a new piece to the music of “Shaft”.

Ella Buckley as Theresa in "Bombshells".

Theresa, played by Ella Buckley, is preparing for her wedding. As she dons her wedding gown she confides her joy in finally getting the wear this gown. As her thoughts drift towards her life after her wedding, she begins to panic at the realisation that she knows very little about her groom, as her only reason for getting engaged was to wear the wedding dress.

Alice Ferguson as Winsom in "Bombshells"

Winsome, played by Alice Ferguson, is a well-dressed out-wardly sophisticated widow, who at 65 decides to embark on a new hobby, reading books to blind clients. When one of her clients requests that she reads him extracts from a racy novel, Winsome discovers rather more joys to book-reading than she had anticipated.

The final character in the sextet is a former chanteuse, Zoe, played by Lainie Hart (Image top of page), who is resuming her career singing in nightclubs. Zoe has all the right moves, the glamorous gown and polished microphone technique and the superbly arranged repertoire which hints at darker life experiences behind the glitz, the glamour, and the over-familiar friendliness. However, does Zoe still have that elusive “IT”?

All six monologues are presented in stylish individual, tightly-lit, settings. The performers stay inside these settings for the full duration of the show. The monologues are presented consecutively, connected by short light-shows which hint tantalisingly at how each character has progressed following their revelations.  

“Bombshells” is a lovely production for which careful attention has been paid to every aspect, especially presentation and choreography.

On a personal note I might have enjoyed it even more with an interval in the middle to allow time to savour the individual stories. 

As it is, everyone will have their favourite story. I’d be delighted to share mine with you next time we meet in a foyer.

                          Images by Photox - Canberra Photographic Services.

                    This review also posted in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW.

 

Mary Stuart - adapted by Kate Mulvany

 

Mary Stuart adapted by Kate Mulvany after the verse play by Friedrich Schiller (the play Maria Stuart had its première in Weimar, Germany on 14 June 1800): Currency Press 2020.  

Presented by Chaika Theatre at ACT Hub, Kingston, Canberra July 24 – August 3, 2024.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
July 25

Director: Luke Rogers; Designer: Kathleen Kershaw
Sound Composition: Rachael Dease; Sound Design: Georgia Snudden
Sound Editing and Arrangement: Luke Rogers
Lighting Design: Disa Swifte; Voice and Text Coach: Sarah Chalmers

Cast:
Mary Stuart – Steph Roberts; Paulet – Cameron Thomas
Mortimer – James McMahon; Young Girl – Lily Welling
Burleigh – Richard Manning; Queen Elizabeth I – Karen Vickery
Ambassador Aubespine – Blue Hyslop; Leicester – Jarrad West
Shrewsbury – Neil McLeod; Davison – Lachlan Herring


Chaika Theatre very effectively uses what I call ‘presentational’ style for Kate Mulvany’s modern feminist approach to the historical story of Queen Elizabeth I executing her cousin Mary Stuart in 1587.

Schiller’s fascination with the story was more focussed on political philosophy, perhaps – about the use and misuse of monarchical power – rather than emphasising the women’s relationships.

You don’t need to know the history, but Life and Deathline of Mary, Queen of Scots, is at the National Museums Scotland site:
https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/mary-queen-of-scots/mary-queen-of-scots/life-and-deathline-of-mary-queen-of-scots

Roger Paulin, in his introduction to the Flora Kimmich 2020 translation, helps explain my term ‘presentational’: the [original] play is written mainly in a blank verse suited to the close confrontations and the interplay of repartee that are conditional on both moral and political argument and the clash of principles. This enables words and notions that are related in sense to be thrown back at each other in rhetorical encounters, such as those to do with right, justice and the law.

So Chaika has taken the right path in this adaptation, not towards what we call ‘naturalism’, but to show characters in a dramatic plot in order to bring out ideas.  And they do that very successfully, except I think for one brief moment.  

The setting, of course, is not strictly 16th Century, though it is suggested by the costumes and the mix of older formal and modern colloquial language.  But the opening of the second half as a social-media dance party scene really seemed inappropriate for a drinking session for Queen Elizabeth and her presumed lover Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Otherwise, the accompanying sound composition and design by Rachael Dease and Georgia Snudden (originally for Performing Lines WA) and the sound editing and arrangement by Luke Rogers captured the mood perfectly, drawing us in emotionally to so many scenes where concentrating on the words and their significance was crucial.

And, finally, the performances by Karen Vickery and Steph Roberts in the scene where they met, and then in their solos – Elizabeth’s anguish over her nightmare decision to sign the execution order; Mary’s confession according to her belief – brought out the depth of empathy from us for these women, because they were women, in our world of uncompromising politics, which Kate Mulvany wanted her adaptation to create beyond even Friedrich Schiller’s ending, where Elizabeth has lost her lover, Robert, Earl of Leicester – “His Lordship begs your pardon.  He is at sea and on his way to France”.

In Schiller, Elizabeth is forced to accept Shrewsbury’s words; “Live, rule content!  Your enemy is dead.  From now on you have nothing more you must fear and nothing you need to respect.”  (She forces herself and stands calm.)  The curtain falls.

In Chaika and Kate Mulvany’s dimming of the lights to black, we felt all that she lost in the awful beheading of her cousin, like her father’s beheading of her mother, Anne Boleyn.  And we felt for all those women who have no choice but to keeping standing calm.

This Mary Stuart is a valuable contribution to Canberra theatre and our culture.


 

 

 

 

 

MARY STUART - Chaika Theatre

Steph Roberts as "Mary Stuart"

Adapted by Kate Mulvany after Friedrich Schiller

Directed by Luke Rogers – Designed by Kathleen Kershaw

Sound designed by Georgia Snudden – Composed by Rachael Dease

ACT Hub. July 24th to August 3rd – Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Cameron Thomas (Paulet) - Lily Welling (young girl) - Steph Roberts (Mary Stuart) - James McMahon (Mortimer) in "Mary Stuart". 

ACT Hub continues to build on its well-earned reputation as the go-to theatre for challenging, well-staged and acted productions. This production of Mary Stuart by Chaika Theatre is a case of point.

Based on a 19th century play by Friedrich Schiller, itself based on real events which occurred in the sixteenth century, Mary Stuart has been given a pithy adaptation by Kate Mulvany in attempt to make it more accessible to 21st century audiences.

The adaptability of the ACT Hub itself encourages thoughtful design choices, so for this production, director Luke Rogers and his designer Kathleen Kershaw have set the action on a bare, raised, cross-shape stage which runs the full length of the theatre, with the audience seated on either side.



                Steph Roberts (Mary Stuart) - Karen Vickery ( Elizabeth 1st) in "Mary Stuart"


The only suggestions of period comes from the striking details on the ambiguous abstract costumes worn by the two female protagonists and some of the male characters. .

The battle between Mary, Queen of Scots, and her cousin, Elizabeth 1st of England provides juicy roles for two strong female actors. With actors of the quality and accomplishment of Karen Vickery and Steph Roberts, and a team of excellent male actors at his disposal, Luke Rogers had everything necessary to produce a memorable evening of high quality theatre.

Therefore his decision to eschew lavish sets and costumes in favour of a pared-back approach, relying on the quality of his actors to carry the weight of portraying the story of two flawed and complicated women engaged in a battle where the stakes couldn’t be higher, was a good one.

Given the title of the play, it might have been expected that the focus would be on Mary Stuart, the Scottish Queen (Steph Roberts), who had been imprisoned for 19 years by her cousin, Elizabeth Tudor (Karen Vickery). 

Steph Roberts offers a compelling performance as Mary Stuart,  the former queen who, despite her long imprisonment, could still summon the strength to challenge her powerful cousin in a last ditch attempt to secure her freedom, even offering to give up her throne if it will result in her seeing the son who had been taken away from her when she was imprisoned.



                                 Karen Vickery as Elizabeth 1st in "Mary Stuart"


However it is Karen Vickery’s extraordinary Trumpian portrayal of Elizabeth as a wild-eyed, foul-mouthed harridan that dominates the production.

Vickery offers a stunning performance that is impossible to tear your eyes away from.

Her timing and line delivery fascinate as she teases, taunts and flirts with those around her.

The verbal battle between Mary and Elizabeth, in which they tear metaphorical strips off each other, is the high point of the play and is brilliantly executed by both actors.

Karen Vickery (Elizabeth 1st) and Steph Roberts (Mary Stuart) in "Mary Stuart"

  
Although Mulvany, towards the end of the play, attempts to garner sympathy for Elizabeth by having her doubt her own motives, it comes too late for Vickery’s Elizabeth to convince the audience that she is deserving of any.

Mulvany has given none of her male characters much to work with. Not one of the men who surround Elizabeth dare challenge her behaviour or authority. That is left to Mary.

The male roles are there simply to support and surround the two central characters.

Within this restriction though, Jarrad West offers a carefully nuanced performance as Elizabeth’s self-serving consort, Leicester. Cameron Thomas successfully wins audience sympathy with his portrayal of Mary’s loyal gaoler, Paulet; while James McMahon establishes a threatening presence as Paulet’s nephew, Mortimer.

Blue Hyslop’s supercilious French Ambassador Aubespine is amusing, but Hyslop’s inability to maintain his accent during the second act rather undermined his believability. Richard Manning as Elizabeth’s ineffectual Prime Minister, Burleigh, and Neil McLeod as her aged adviser, Shrewsbury, invested their roles with as much dignity as the script allowed.

However, it is the performance of Lachlan Herring who comes on late in the play as Elizabeth’s confused young secretary, Davison, that remains in the memory among the male characters, because it is Davison’s predicament that most exposes the real character of Elizabeth.


Although the purpose of the mysterious servant girl (Lily Welling) who wanders through the play dispensing drinks and gathering discarded props is never explained other than as a handy prop distributing device; Luke Rogers has successfully guided his cast through a lucid and fascinating production, especially notable for the performances of its two leading ladies. 

Its a production which will take its place among the ever-growing list of must-see productions for which the ACT Hub has become celebrated.

                                                 

                                                     Images by Jane Duong

     This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au

Emotional Landscapes I

Exhibition Review: Photography | Brian Rope

Emotional Landscapes I | Jenny Adams, Julie Delves, Eva van Gorsel & Delene White

ANCA Gallery, Dickson | 17 July - 4 August 2024 

This art exhibition at the ANCA Gallery with the Tinshed Art Group examines the emotional connections that humans have with the natural world. It makes observations about the nuanced and intricate interaction between the natural world and humankind. It looks at how humans affect the climate and the earth, but it also maintains optimism that appreciating nature's marvels makes us feel a part of it and inspires us to take constructive action. Through this investigation, the show hopes to spark reflection, foster empathy, and motivate viewers to dedicate themselves to the pursuit of a peaceful and long-lasting cohabitation with the natural world.

The participating artists work with various mediums. Jenny Adams and Julie Delves paint with acrylic on canvas. Delene White uses oils on canvas, found objects, and fibreglass & silicone. I enjoyed all their works very much, particularly White’s installation The bigger picture, with its lightweight wall marching ants. 

However, I will concentrate here on the photography of Eva van Gorsel - since it is the art form in which I work myself and, so, am best qualified to discuss. This artist’s seventeen pieces are archival pigment prints. The seventeen works form a series created by van Gorsel for this exhibition. They are all of a high standard and I was most pleased to see several of them had already been purchased when I visited.

Watching Out explores the fact that human development and the pursuit of food security have been intertwined throughout history. The artist notes that deforestation for cultivation disrupts ecosystems, leading to biodiversity loss and climate change. She reminds us that humanity needs to watch over the landscapes and ecosystems we depend on for survival, making concerted efforts toward environmentally friendly and socially responsible land use practices.

In that piece, two or more images have been combined into a beautifully blended composite showing something of the interactions between humans and a rural landscape. So there is a human looking out over the landscape, plus a section of fencing and parts of a building constructed by humans.

Watching Out © Eva van Gorsel

The same approach has been taken with most of the artist’s other works, but the messages are diverse. For example, Morning Flight includes birds and van Gorsel’s artist statement speaks about how engaging with natural environments has been linked to improved mental health, increased creativity, and heightened feelings of belonging fostering a deeper connection with the natural world.

Morning Flight © Eva van Gorsel

I particularly appreciated Encroachment. It incorporates a drawing of Canberra’s central national capital area and two examples of the native animals seen in the city’s urban areas. This is all about the need for urban planning that achieves sustainable developments.

Encroachment © Eva van Gorsel

There are also works about foxes, weeds and habitats. One artwork is titled Endemophilia. That word may not be familiar to you. If that is the case, let me tell you that it is about the particular love manifest in the people of a place that is special to them. It is what gives people a particular sense of belonging as opposed to a global sense of place. This image shows us an example of the type of water and forest environment where the artist feels a deep sense of belonging.

Endemophilia © Eva van Gorsel

Other works tell us to stop messing with the environment, speak about the unpredictability of nature, discuss the history of climate extremes, reference the fact that water is essential for life and note that global carbon emissions have surged to record levels.

This exhibition most successfully does what it set out to do. I commend it to you and applaud all the artists.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

MARY STUART

 

Mary Stuart. Adapted by Kate Mulvany after Friedrich Schiller.

Directed by Luke Rogers. Designer Kathleen Kershaw. Sound composition: Rachel Dease. Sound design: Georgia Snudden. Sound editing and arrangement: Luke Rogers. Lighting design: Disa Swifte. Voice and text coach Sarah Chalmers. Chaika Theatre. ACT HUB. July 24 – August 4 2024. Bookings: Phone: 0402 809 762 Box Office

Cast: Steph Roberts, Cameron Thomas, James McMahon, Lily Welling, Richard Manning, Karen Vickery, Blue Hyslop, Jarrad West, Neil McLeod, Lachlan Herring.

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

Karen Vickery as Elizabeth lst. Steph Roberts as MaryStuart

 

 Chaika Theatre’s production of Mary Stuart is must see theatre at its best. This is not only because of playwright Kate Mulvany’s riveting adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s  nineteenth century play, Nor is is it just because of the remarkable performances of Steph Roberts and Karen Vickery in the roles of Mary Stuart and Elizabeth 1^st. Nor is it only because of Kathleen Kershaw’s imaginative design of a crucifix-stage in the intimate ACT HUB Theatre. Luke Rogers’ carefully orchestrated direction creates a seamless production that will have audiences on the edge of their seats, engrossed in the historical events of Mary Stuart’s incarceration and  the imagined meeting between two strong women.

Can=meron Thomas, Lily Welling, Steph Roberts and James McMahon

Mulvany tells of an experience in a supermarket when she noticed a magazine emblazoned with Royals in Turmoil. Kate versus Meaghan. Years before it had been Fergie versus Diana and even further back Elizabeth versus Margaret during the Peter Townshend scandal.  In the imagined meeting between Elizabeth l and Mary Stuart the battle rages , sister versus sister, woman versus woman, queen versus queen in a patriarchal society, where there is simply not enough room for one  woman of power, let alone two. Times have changed but we do not have to look far to see the injustice and the inequality meted out to women. There is an anger that ricochets through Mulvany’s adaptation. Mary voices it to her jailer Paulet ( a sympathetic and thoroughly convincing performance by Cameron Thomas). Elizabeth rages against her powerlessness before Lord Burleigh’s sinister wile. Richard Manning gives a chilling performance as Elizabeth’s manipulative and controlling Secretary of State. 

Karen Vickery as Elizabeth 1st.

Schiller’s play and Mulvany’s adaptation reflect the dominance of the patriarchal court. Whether that be Burleigh’s power as chief adviser or the sexual power of Elizabeth’s lover Robert Cecil (Jarrad West) or the wisdom of the aged Shrewsbury (Neil McLeod) it is the men to whom Elizabeth turns. Even in the opening scene she must consider marrying the French Duke of Anjou, whose emissary Aubespine (Blue Hyslop) awaits an answer.

And yet the real power of Mulvany’s adaptation  and the triumph of Chaika’s production lies in the scene between Elizabeth and Mary. Here they are equals, warriors and icons, cousins trapped in historical inevitability. Vickery and Roberts are brilliant as the powerful Gloriana and the imprisoned captive Queen of Scotland. During the nineteen years of captivity, Mary and Elizabeth never met. Schiller has imagined the meeting that they might have had and Mulvany uses their own words in the dialogue between them. Neither is a shrinking violet. They are equals - intellectual jousters, forces to be reckoned with, doomed by their time but uttering a cry for all women to understand: that there is enough room for two powerful women. Vickery runs the gamut from defiant survivor of an assassination attempt to sensual lover to conflicted monarch and tortured queen forced to choose, yet powerless to instruct her private secretary William Davison ( effectively played with awestruck nervousness by Lachlan Herring).To watch Vickery and Roberts play out the emotional rollercoaster of their characters is to witness two of Canberra’s finest actors. These are performances of high professional stature, ably supported by a fine cast under the perceptive direction of Luke Rogers.

Steph Roberts as Mary Stuart

Choice and consequence define the actions of Schiller’s characters. Mulvany’s powerfully resonant adaptation for our time is both an admonition and a cry for action and change. Ultimately that will rest as the play teaches us with the choices one makes and the consequences serve as a warning call to empowerment and emancipation

Although conceived in anger, Mulvany’s adaptation gives voice to all women. It asserts their power and recognizes their frailties. Mary’s final confession is as much a railing against injustice as it is an admission of the truths that give rise to the anger. Elizabeth’s outpouring of grief at the consequence of her prevarication is an assault on a society that still diminishes the power of the female population. This is especially timely as we witness the recent development in American politics.

Chaika’s production speaks profoundly to our time, four centuries after the historical events that inspired Schiller’s play and only a few years after Mulvany’s first female adaptation.  In ACT HUB’s intimate setting Chaika Theatre’s Mary Stuart is an explosive theatrical experience that will hold a mirror up to our age and provoke reflection on gender equality and the societal consequence of patriarchy. More than that, this production is a theatrical tour de force that will remain in your memory long after you have left the theatre. Don’t miss it.