Lochhead, Liz. Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off.
- La Corbie's monologue introduces the situation
- Elizabeth refuses her suitors, Mary comments on their qualies how she sees them herself
- Elizabeth becomes Bessie, Mary's maid; Mary then becomes Marian, Elizabeth's maid
- John Knox argues with Mary about religion, does not convince her
- Elizabeth realises she cannot marry whom she chooses, strategically decides to marry Darnley to Mary
- a procession of commoners greets the passing Queen, Mary a. Elizabeth become poor common girls
- Darnley is sick with measles, Mary nurses him
- Darnley and Mary are married
- Darnely becomes a weak child-like alcoholic
- Mary gets intimate with her secretary Riccio and rumours spread
- Bessie is seduced by the Earl of Bothwell
- Knox argues with Bothwell about religion
- Mary gives birth to a boy named James
- Elizabeth proclaims herself the Virgin Queen
- all the characters become nasty 20th century children who laugh at the Catholic outsider Mary
- the climax is La Corbie's cry of "Mary Queen of Scots got her head chopped off"
- written throughout in heavy Scots dialect
- makes use of various scenic devices, including light, music, dance
- echoes the antic use of chorus in the character of La Corbie
- twists the historical facts to produce an alternative rather banal version of the story
- irreverently degrades the historical figures to the condition of very common people
- deconstructs the myth of ideal love btw Elizabeth and Darnley
- results in a black farce making fun of both Mary's failure and Elizabeth's success to rule the country
AuthorLochhead, Liz. (b. 1947).
Full TitleMary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off.
First PerformedEdinburgh, 1987.
Lochhead, Liz. Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off and Dracula. London: Penguin, 1989.