By Jade Scott

Dr Jade Scott is an affiliate in Scottish History at the University of Glasgow and the author of Captive Queen: The Deconstructed History of Mary, Queen of Scots (Michael O’Mara Books, 2024).

Mary, Queen of Scots spent more than twenty-five years of her life seeking to meet her cousin, and fellow ruler, Elizabeth I of England. Both were female rulers surrounded by a political system designed by, and for the continued benefit of men. They ruled during a time of tumultuous religious and social change, at a point when Scotland and England had secured an insecure alliance, after generations of instability. It was therefore in both queens’ interest to maintain amicable ties between their kingdoms. Meeting in person, it was thought, might bolster the Anglo-Scots relationship.

However, the queens were each conscious of their own status within their realms and internationally. Mary was determined to secure the right to inherit the English crown, through her grandmother Margaret Tudor, sister of Elizabeth’s own father Henry VIII. Elizabeth refused to acknowledge any successor. As reigning queen of Scotland, from Mary’s return from France in 1561 diplomats journeyed regularly between the two courts and several meetings were planned. In the end though the negotiations always foundered.

Both were female rulers surrounded by a political system designed by, and for the continued benefit of men.
Dr Jade Scott

When Mary fled Scotland in May 1568 and crossed into England, she sought shelter and aid from Elizabeth. Though Elizabeth instinctively sympathised with Mary, she nevertheless recognised the political expediency of holding her captive. For the next nineteen years, Mary agitated incessantly for an audience with Elizabeth. She was sure that if only they could come together, she would be able to secure Elizabeth’s support – and her freedom.

Their lives – and their legends – remain intimately bound to one another. Traditionally, they are set against one another, forever forced into opposition, never allowed to step out from the constraints of the conflicting qualities we seek from our favourite historical figures. Mary is warm, passionate, bold, but hopelessly naïve. Elizabeth is calm, clever, cautious, yet frustratingly aloof. We are still pressured to pick a side, to choose a team, and to idealise one whilst villainising the other.

History as Inspiration

Scottish Ballet’s major new production, Mary, Queen of Scots, takes an excitingly innovative approach to the familiar tale of these two iconic women. The striking ballet, choreographed by Sophie Laplane, plays at the intersection of history and myth. It encourages the audience to explore Mary’s story through Elizabeth’s eyes, drawing out their perceived relationship in all its possible incarnations.

The production deliberately avoids following a strict historical narrative, but don’t expect a fanciful showdown between the queens either. Instead, as Elizabeth’s own death draws near, we are taken on a journey through her memories, both real and imagined, culminating with her decision to execute Mary on 8 February 1587. As director and co-creator James Bonas notes, ballet is a medium uniquely suited to impressions rather than information, feelings over facts. In this way, the audience see Elizabeth as both a young, powerful queen forced to make hard decisions to preserve the security of her kingdom, and an older ruler personally haunted by guilt from those very actions. Mary, therefore, embodies both threat and victimhood, rather than being pigeon-holed into only one role as she has in the past.

Challenging Assumptions

Elizabeth and Mary might never have managed to meet each other, but nevertheless, they built a complex relationship through letters. Thousands of Mary’s letters survive in public archives and private collections across the world offering an exceptional insight into her lived experience. Using emotive language and rhetorical strategies, Mary was able to claim agency even as her circumstances deteriorated. Through her letters, she constructed a position of power for herself even at points of personal and political crisis during her reign and later captivity.

Sophie Laplane, Resident Choreographer at Scottish Ballet, and choreographer and co-creator of the new production, emphasises that Mary’s power was something the team were determined to bring to life. Mary the politician is therefore one of the key versions of the queen who appears on stage and her power can be understood in many forms; as a female monarch who produced an heir for her kingdom; as a martyr for her faith; as a queen unjustly held captive.

Scottish Ballet’s Mary, Queen of Scots, challenges the gendered stereotypes forced on both Mary and Elizabeth and allows the portrayal of different, more nuanced, and indeed more human, versions of the women.