Mary Stuart. Adapted by Kate Mulvany after Friederich Schiller. Directed by Luke Rogers. Chaika Theatre. ACTHub. July 23-August 3. Reviewed by Alanna Maclean.

Stephe roberts, Karen Vickery background. Photo Jane Duong

 A heap of films and plays attest to the popularity of the story of  Elizabeth 1 and Mary Stuart.  

Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Friederich Schiller’s play is a powerful take. In real life they never met but in drama and film they always seem to. After all, that generally makes for a right ding dong on-stage row between two fine characters and two fine performers. Which is what happens here.

No bad idea to read up a bit of history before you go. The two queens are cousins but Elizabeth is Protestant and Mary Catholic. The convolutions that led to Mary becoming Elizabeth’s prisoner are fascinating and underlie the action. Mary has had three difficult marriages. Elizabeth is still unmarried, keeping Robert Dudley earl of Leicester (Jarrad West) at arms length in a very long lasting flirtation. How these two queens have navigated their patriarchal environment is central to the play.

Karen Vickery is a splendid Elizabeth, all marvellous contradictions,  and Steph Roberts is an equally splendid Mary, still battling for recognition despite years of imprisonment.

Director Luke Rogers rightly keeps these two excellent actors at the centre of the show but the supporting cast is also a delight, Richard Manning as the pragmatic Burleigh, Blue Hyslop as the flamboyant French ambassador, Cameron Thomas as Mary’s sympathetic jailer, Neil McLeod as the elderly Shrewsbury, James McMahon as the devious Mortimer, Lachlan Herring as the terrified Davison, the quiet presence of Lily Welling as the attendant young girl and West’s Robert Dudley, always doomed to be the unsatisfied lover and never the husband.

Design by Kathleen Kershaw hints at the era with both queens in a variety of costume that hints at Elizabeth’s ruff and farthingales and Mary’s more sober prison attire with the red she wears at the end for her execution. Disa Swifte’s lighting has a dramatic use of colour and Rachael Dease’s sound composition and Georgia Snudden’s  sound design  add to the tensions.

The stage is a crucifix shape that works both as an image for the role conflicting religions play in this story but also as a way of solving the Hub’s sightline problems. And there’s a riveting special effects moment near the end which involves blood.

An impressive and moving take on two of history’s most fascinating characters.