Inverness drama company The Florians brings the royal rivalry between two queens to the stage from Wednesday, September 14 as they present playwright and former Scottish makar Liz Lochhead's dark and funny play Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off at their Florians Theatre in the city
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The 1987 play which Inverness theatre group The Florians presents next week lets you see history working in circles.
At its heart, Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off explores the rivalry between the two 16th century queens, the French Catholic Mary Queen of Scots and the English Protestant Elizabeth.
When Scottish poet and playwright Liz Lochhead wrote the funny yet dark drama, Scotland’s push for independence and its relationship with England, were top of the agenda. No change there, then ...
And, as then, religious sectarianism is still also a big part of life in parts of Scotland, 35 years on.
Alan Holling, who is directing The Florians’ production, explained why the play was chosen to present now: “When Liz Lochhead wrote it, it was very much a reflection on the current political situation then. It was about strong women – Margaret Thatcher was the strong lady of that time – but you could say that hasn’t changed much! You’ve got a strong woman in charge of the SNP and it looks as if we might be about to get another one in charge of Westminster again!”
This week’s events have proved Alan right, with Liz Truss now Prime Minister.
Traditionally, with their September production The Florians test themselves.
Alan explained: “We’ve done that in the past to help people progress – an idea started in the company by the late John Claudius. So I was looking for something challenging, and yes, this is challenging! But there is no point keeping your ambitions within your own tiny limits without expanding them.”
There are plenty of tests for the cast. Some have multiple roles – Rosalyn Paton plays Mary, also Elizabeth’s maid, Marion – and a third role, as a teenager.
There are different accents to master too. Alan said: “The hardest work has probably been by Rosalyn as Mary spoke mainly broken French before developing a Lowland Scots accent.”
As ever with The Florians, it is not just those on stage who are working hard.
Alan said: “The contribution from the people doing the costumes, for example, has been tremendous – Agnes Maclennan and the team.”
Originally Alan had wanted the cast in modern dress.
“But we have a large wardrobe full of costumes of the Elizabethan era, so we decided to mix the two.
"As a result we’ve worn out two sewing machines and have had to order a new heavy-duty machine! Hats off to the wardrobe department for coping with it all!”
Alan added: “And David Russell – who is doing lighting and sound – has also mixed and edited songs, traditional and classical music, so the music is interesting.”
Any regrets about taking on this latest challenge?
Alan said: “We do like to push ourselves – it is a bit frightening to start with, but then you think ‘I can do it!’.”
The play runs at the Florians Theatre, Inverness, from Wednesday (Sept 14-17). Tickets and more info: florians.org.uk Keep in touch at their Facebook page: @florianstheatre
