Musicals that aim to reinvent historical figures are in fashion at the moment, as shown by the success of Hamilton and Six. Pretty Knickers productions have come up with Mary Queen of Rock!, a show that re-imagines Scotland’s most iconic monarch as a rock star. Written and composed by Mhiari McCall, Cal Ferguson and Lewis Lauder, and directed by Lana Pheutan and Jenny Tamplin, the show follows Mary from her return from France in 1561 to her eventual death at the hands of her cousin Elizabeth in 1587.
Superb, fun, foot-stamping effort with a lot of potential
In the show Mary (Mhiari McCall) is a rock star returning to Scotland, along with the other members of her girl group. However, things are very different from when she left, with rock now banned, thanks to the influence of Knox (Cameron Banks). Worse, her half-brother Moray (Cal Ferguson), despite claiming to have Mary’s interests at heart, clearly has eyes on the top spot, and is prepared to do anything to get it, including playing the members of Mary’s entourage against each other. Meanwhile, Mary’s cousin pop star Queen Lizzie (Nicola Alexander) lurks in the background.
The writers have done a good job of condensing the events of Mary’s turbulent reign into eighty minutes, while maintaining the central idea and including lots of humour. The musical numbers and choreography are full of energy, and by the end the audience was cheering along and gave the entire cast a standing ovation. McCall and Banks are also very strong as the two central characters. Overall, it is a superb, fun, foot-stamping effort with a lot of potential.
