Mary Stuart: Outside the Box
the Tudor family in happier times
For a queen to stand, a queen must fall—a clever tagline for a clever presentation of Friedrich Schiller’s Mary Stuart. I recently watched Peter Oswald’s Tony award-winning adaptation of the 16th century power struggle between half-sisters (Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots) for the British crown.
A minimal production budget led to striking staging. Only the women are clad in period attire; the men are clothed in modern garb. This juxtaposition, created out of financial necessity, provides a powerful reminder of the story’s modern-day relevance, while Elizabeth and Mary’s elaborate gowns impart historical context.
The set design is equally brilliant, proving—as we all have learned in this economy—you can do a lot with little. On my own shoots, I use several compositional elements to suggest a story, rather than creating an elaborate set. Best to let the imagination work!
The relationship between Elizabeth and Mary presents a fascinating contrast. On the one hand, Mary fulfills traditional gender roles. She is beautiful, impetuous, and driven by pleasure—“feminine”, according to the dictates of society. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is controlled, tenacious, and cunning—inherently more “masculine”.
Not only did brains prevail over beauty, an all-too-rare occurrence in an appearance driven world, but also—and more importantly–it was she who dared step outside societal norms who succeeded.
Remember the lessons of Elizabeth and Mary in your own battles. Elizabeth vanquished Mary just as David defeated Goliath, by thinking outside the proverbial box. Don’t be afraid to upset the traditional hierarchy. You too will triumph.
Themocracy
In my personal view Diletarre–To Delight is very much a properly developed write-up. Definately very well worth talking about but also worthwhile referfing to http://andreablanchblog.com/2009/08/26/mary-stuart-outside-the-box at the same time. Good luck, Jackson Mcburney