Mary Stuart Tickets

Take the story of Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart. Make it relevant to a 21st Century audience. Flip a coin every night to decide who plays who. Currently at the Duke of York's theatre, Robert Icke's adaptation of Mary Stuart is fascinating, gripping, and perfectly executed by a flawless cast.

Mary Stuart is an imaginative interpretation of her and Queen Elizabeth 1’s lives using a stripped back set and contemporary 21^st-century clothing. The addition of spinning a coin at the beginning heightens the tension and arguably the rivalry as no one knows whether Juliet Stevenson or Lia Williams will be Queen Elizabeth I or Mary Stuart.

Actors sharing roles is very common. They usually have an understudy or, in the case of Dreamgirls, multiple actresses sharing one demanding part, however in Mary Stuart Juliet Stevenson and Lia Williams share two roles; the title character and Elizabeth I and to make matters even more complicated neither actress knows who they are playing on the night until a coin is tossed in the first few minutes of the play.

Heads.  In a snatched breath, Lia Williams casts her lot to play Elizabeth I for the evening.  A coin is tossed, screens around the auditorium zoom in and the audience leans forward.  Tails.  Fate has spoken, the ensemble turn and bow deeply to Juliet Stevenson, and Williams is led offstage to imprisonment as the performance of Mary Stuart begins.