
Bess the Commoner Queen
All tickets £14.00, no concessions. Price includes a booking fee
"An ambitious one-woman show presented as a seamless mix of powerful live performance and luscious film shot on location at Hardwick Hall.
Performed by Michelle Todd (Follies - Shaftsbury Theatre West End) website: www.michelletoddsoprano.com
Directed by Rikki Tarascas ("celebrates the totality of theatre in knowing hands" - Plays International) website: www.tarascas.co.uk
Film and Projection Design by Will Simpson ("The Kite Runner" Wyndham's Theatre & Playhouse Theatre West End) website: https://omnistudio.co
Written by Kevin Fegan ("Britain's most innovative playwright" - Plays International) website: www.kevinfegan.co.uk
First performed at The Guildhall Theatre Derby Sept 2017. Arts Council Funded through First Art. Published by Playdead Press.
"In these troubled times, Fortune hangs by a single thread..."
A unique insight into the political intrigues of Elizabethan England, as witnessed first-hand by "Bess of Hardwick". Bess was the closest female friend and Lady-in-Waiting to Elizabeth I and, at the same time, confidante to Mary Queen of Scots, whom Bess and her 4th husband (the Earl of Shrewsbury) kept under "house-arrest" for over 15 years until Mary's execution.
"Who'd 'ave thought, this Derbyshire lass would one day be tab-hanging between two great queens?"
Born a farmer's daughter, Bess "the commoner queen" rose to become the richest woman in Elizabethan England. She created the Cavendish dynasty and became a maker of queens. Her grand-daughter, Arbella Stuart, was second-in-line to James I and groomed by Bess to become queen and Bess counts amongst her descendants our current Queen Elizabeth II and her heirs to the throne via Lady Diana Spencer.
"My epitaph will say, 'she built magnificent buildings',
and yet I find that building is not so hard:
one brick on another like a house of cards;
but a legacy? A legacy is not of brick but blood
and cannot readily be understood."
This is a female story of survival and astonishing business success in the brutal world of Elizabethan politics.
"Everyone casts a shadow in the sun: we all hath good and bad deeds done."
"A tour de force, striking outstanding production, triumphfor actress Michelle Todd and playwright Kevin Fegan" (British TheatreGuide).
When & Where
Adults £15.50, concessions £13.50. Price includes a booking fee
The MET studio is unallocated seating.
Age guidance 14 years +. Show contains some swearing, and adult content.
30th April, and matinee on 4th May - all tickets £14.50, no concessions
1st, and 2nd May - adults £17.50, concessions £15.50
3rd May - adults £18.50, concessions £16.50
4th May evening - all tickets £18.50, no concessions.
All prices include a booking fee
Parental Advisory: This show contains nudity, and strong language.
A Musical Theatre Stafford Production
All tickets £12.00, no concessions. Price includes a booking fee
Parental guidance advised
Adults £15.50, concessions £13.50. Price includes a booking fee.
Age guidance 15 years +
MET studio is unallocated seating
All tickets £16.00, no concessions. Price includes a booking fee
Age guidance - 8 years +
MET studio is unallocated seating
All tickets £15.00, no concessions. Price includes a booking fee
MET Studio is unallocated seating
All tickets £15.00, no concessions. Price includes a booking fee
MET Studio is unallocated seating