Queen Elizabeth I ruled England and Ireland for nearly 45 years. That extraordinary achievement is even more remarkable given the political and cultural obstacles facing a female monarch in the 16th century.
Still She Stands, a new historical drama in development by Cyndi Whisnant, explores the Queen’s final hours as she fights to define her powerful legacy through memory, figures from the past and visits from Time and Death.
“She became one of England’s most iconic monarchs,” Whisnant said. “She survived imprisonment, religious conflict, political intrigue, assassination plots, and constant pressure to marry.”
The playwright is drawn to historical figures because of her academic background and her love of a good story. She traces a line from the insights of history and the classics to better understanding our contemporary world.
“This play is based in history, but so many of the issues for these characters are the same for leaders today.”
An upcoming ‘workshop performance’ of Still She Stands will be fully staged with light and sound design, costumes and props, and performed on a set. The main characters will be ‘on book’ meaning they will not have memorized lines. This is common for plays in development.
The performances on July 18 (7:30 pm) and July 19 (3:00 pm) at the ArtsCenter, will be more fully realized, than some simpler formats for staged readings.
Whisnant, together with Marcia Decker, who is also the director of this play, formed Midnight Oil Productions to give voice to women’s stories.
Fitting with their production company’s mission, the play gives a substantial role in the lead to Lenore Field, a veteran actress who has worked with Triangle theaters for three decades.
In Hollywood, such roles are rarely available.
“Women are still struggling to find their voice in leadership in this country,” Whisnant said. “Elizabeth had power, but she had to constantly justify it. She could never simply rule; she had to create a performance around ruling.”
For Decker, directing a workshop production was a matter of balancing the physical movement of actors on stage (blocking), while allowing for having scripts in hand.
“In the more complex scenes, it’s kind of like choreographing a dance,” she said. “You also want to leave space for the actors to come up with their own ideas for how their character will move and behave.”
Still She Stands examines Elizabeth I’s humanity and themes of power, identity, morality, and the challenges of women in leadership.
Why does it make good theater?
“The story of Elizabeth's final hours translates to great theater because while it is rooted in history, the emotional and psychological journey is imagined,” said Whisnant.
“Theater allows us to bring Elizabeth's life into one room and explore emotional truth for her and for us.”
Throughout the 18-month growth of the play, Midnight Oil Productions has been encouraged by the many strong women “who are making theater as writers, producers, directors, and actors, and we want to assist them in bringing their creations to life,” Whisnant noted.
Elizabeth I may have been the most successful queen to rule England, but she wasn’t the first queen to rule in her own right. Mary I and the contested Lady Jane Grey preceded her.
Her record is also not unblemished.
Whisnant recognizes that Elizabeth was flawed, and describes her as, “both woman and symbol, both human being and institution.”
As a historically-based theatrical character imagined by the playwright, Elizabeth is a vehicle to tell a dramatic story of loneliness, vanity, self-awareness, sacrifices, and the dangers of wielding power.
Still She Stands is a deep character study and through it an instructive human journey.