''Elizabeth Rex'' is a play by

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley Timothy Findley's
entry in

Stratford Festival. The play won the 2000 Governor General's Award for English language drama.

Plot

The plot involves a meeting between

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and an actor from Shakespeare's troupe who specializes in playing women's parts (since at that time women were not allowed to act in the theatre). The Queen had summoned them to perform ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' for her as a diversion from waiting for the execution for treason of a man she may have loved, the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

. She struggles with her feelings, knowing that her whole life she has had to act like a man in order to govern, and has had to reject her passionate side in order to remain unmarried. At the same time, Ned Lowenscroft, a gay man, has had to act like a woman in order to succeed in his profession, and conceal his passionate side since, being gay, his love is forbidden. He is currently mourning a soldier whom he loved, but who also gave him syphilis. His syphilis gives him skin lesions and the play hints that they are analogous to

Kaposi's sarcoma Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a type of cancer that can form masses in the skin, in lymph nodes, in the mouth, or in other organs. The skin lesions are usually painless, purple and may be flat or raised. Lesions can occur singly, multiply in a limit ...

of the modern day. The Queen rejects the idea that she should mourn, while Ned very much wishes to mourn and have his sorrow acknowledged. This play takes place in two different barns on the night before the execution of the earl of Essex. There is a curfew on that night because the authorities are afraid that there will be riots.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

is a supporting character in the play, writing down lines and exchanges between the characters that appear in his later plays, but not interacting much otherwise. One of the play's central themes is challenging notions of

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

, as each of the two protagonists has a problematic relationship with the way they enact their gender, and the ways they pretend to be a different gender. In one of the play's central lines, Elizabeth says to the actor, "if you will teach me how to be a woman, I will teach you how to be a man."

Characters

''The Lord Chamberlain's Men'' (The names in parenthesis are the characters played in ''Much Ado About Nothing''.) * Will: William Shakespeare, actor-playwright and shareholder of the Lord Chamberlain's men * Ned: Edward Lowenscroft, actor (Beatrice) * Jack: Jonathan Edmund, actor (Benedick) * Matt: Matthew Welles, actor (Claudio) * Percy: Percy Gower, character actor (Watch) * Harry: Henry Pearle, actor (Hero) * Tom: Tom Travis, boy actor (Margaret) * Ben: Benjamin Herlie, boy actor (Boy) * Tardy: Kate Tardwell, the wardrobe mistress * Luddy: Luddy Beddoes, character actor (Friar Francis) * Bear: Ned's tame bear ''The Court'' * Stanley: Lady Mary Stanley, maid of honour to the Queen * Elizabeth: Queen Elizabeth I * Henslowe: Anne, Countess of Henslowe, lady-in-waiting to the Queen * Cecil: Lord Robert Cecil, Private Secretary to the Queen * Servants, Watch, Boys, Men, etc.

Productions

The play premiered at the

Stratford Festival of Canada The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

in 2000, directed by

Martha Henry Martha Kathleen Henry (née Buhs; February 17, 1938October 21, 2021) was an American-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She was noted for her work at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Early life and training Martha ...

and starring

Diane D'Aquila Diane D'Aquila (born October 23, 1952) is an American-Canadian actress. She has appeared in both television and film roles, but is best known for her stage appearances at the Stratford Festival. Early life Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, D'Aquil ...

as Elizabeth,

Brent Carver Brent Carver (November 17, 1951 – August 4, 2020) was a Canadian actor best known internationally for performances in both London's West End and on Broadway in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' as Molina, for which he won the Tony Award for Best L ...

as Ned, Peter Hutt as Will, and

Scott Wentworth Scott Wentworth (born 1955) is an American actor and director who immigrated to Canada in 1986. Early life Wentworth was born in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1955. Career After starting his career in New York City, he began a ...

as Jack. The US premiere was at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, where it played from September 5–30, 2001. The production was directed by Rob Bundy, In 2002, the play was produced at Performance Network, Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2004, the play received its northern-California premiere in a

Pacific Repertory Theatre The Pacific Repertory Theatre is a non-profit California corporation, based in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, that produces theatrical productions and events, including the annual Carmel Shakespeare Festival. It is one of eight major arts institut ...

production at the Golden Bough Playhouse in Carmel, California. In 2005, The New Place of St. Paul, Minnesota, produced the play's American Midwest Area Premiere. In May 2006, the play made its Los Angeles premiere at The NoHo Arts Center starring Karesa McElheny as Elizabeth, David H. Ferguson as Ned, and Jay Willick as William Shakespeare. In 2006, the play was produced in Japan. In 2007, it received its Australian premiere from the Canberra Repertory Society. In 2008, it received its French-language premiere (''Elizabeth, roi d'Angleterre'') at the

Théâtre du Nouveau Monde The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM) is a theatre company and Theater (structure), venue located on Rue Sainte-Catherine (Montreal), rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in , it launched with the classic play ''L'Avare'' by Molière. ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, translated by

René-Daniel Dubois René-Daniel Dubois, OC (born July 20, 1955, in Montreal) is a Québécois playwright and actor. Biography Movie career He is best known for his 1985 play ''Being at Home with Claude'', which was adapted into an award-winning film in 1992 and th ...

. as well as its New York City premiere at the

Nicu's Spoon Theater Company Nicu's Spoon is an inclusion-oriented off-off-Broadway theater company in New York City. The company works with actors regardless of age, ability, gender, color or ethnicity and seeks to challenge stereotypes and expectations. Nicu's Spoon was the ...

, where it later moved to an Off-Broadway premiere and garnered two NY Innovative Theater Award nominations. In March 2009, the play made its Washington, D.C., premiere at the Keegan Theatre. In May 2009, ''Elizabeth Rex'' was also staged for the first time in South Korea by Theatre Group Mythos under the direction of professor Oh Kyong-sook in the Woosuk Repertoire Theater. A production at

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare s ...

, with

reprising the role of

and co-starring Steven Sutcliffe, opened on December 7, 2011. The production staged by Vancouver's

Bard on the Beach Bard on the Beach is Western Canada's largest professional Shakespeare festival. The theatre Festival runs annually from early June through September in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Festival is produced by Bard on the Beach Theatre Soc ...

opened July 14, 2013 with Colleen Wheeler playing

and Haig Sutherland playing Ned Lowenscroft. For its 2014 season, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival presented the play in rotating rep with ''

'' and '' Antony and Cleopatra'', with the actors who appeared in ''Much Ado'' taking the corresponding characters in ''Rex''. The production was directed by Paula Suozzi and featured Deborah Staples as Elizabeth (and Cleopatra in ''A&C''), Christopher Prentice as Ned, Thomas Anthony Quinn as Will, and Matt Daniels as Jack.

2004 TV version

A version was broadcast on

Bravo! CTV Drama Channel (formerly known as Bravo) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel was founded as the Canadian version of the U.S. channel Bravo (which is now owned by NBCUniversal) on January 1, 1995 b ...

network in 2004."Bravo! Presents Timothy Findley’s Play Elizabeth Rex, November 17"
/ref> It starred Diane D'Aquila and Brent Carver in the leads, and also Peter Hutt, Scott Wentworth and Bernard Hopkins.

References

External links