Meet Queens Margaret, Titania, Hermione, Tamara, Cleopatra and many others from over a dozen plays in sixty action-packed minutes. Shakespeare's seductively powerful Queens star in a fascinating hour of intrigue, passion, tragedy and triumph, presented by Good Queen Bess and the witty Bard himself. Shakespeare's queens are strong women who drive the plots of many of his plays. Without them, Lear would have had a comfortable old age, Mark Anthony would have been faithful to Rome and to his wife, and Duncan would have ruled over a far less bloody Scotland - thus depriving us of some of the world's greatest plays. 'Shakespeare's Queens: She-wolves and Serpents' is an action-packed look at the lives of some of the most dynamic female characters ever written. When Shakespeare began his writing career, the redoubtable Good Queen Bess was on the throne. It is easy to believe that many of his strong female rulers were modelled on her as we see them ride into battle, manipulate their politicians, outwit their enemies and seduce their admirers. Many Shakespeare fans and historians are fascinated by the tantalising question of whether the two greatest celebrities of their age, Shakespeare and Elizabeth I, ever actually met. He seems certain to have acted in plays presented before her at court but, in the absence of a modern paparazzi or Twitter, there is no evidence of any actual introduction or conversation. Various claims of a relationship between them have surfaced to fill the information vacuum, including rival theories that he might have been her lover or even her son. It's lucky these ideas didn't exist, even as vague gossip, during her lifetime, or the massive royal propaganda machine _x0013_ dedicated to the creation and maintenance of Elizabeth's cult status as 'Gloriana, the Virgin Queen' would almost certainly have had Shakespeare 'disappear' into the Tower or have chopped his head off with half or more of his great works still unwritten. In this new play, Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth do meet _x0013_ under rather unusual circumstances _x0013_ and we see a very different relationship develop between them as they summon the famous Queens of his plays to relive the greatest tragedies and triumphs of their amazing lives. Straylight Australia return to the Adelaide Fringe to premier this show at The Bakehouse Theatre, where their internationally successful 'Shakespeare's Mothers: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know' was a big hit last year. Professional and slick (Advertiser), Clever and funny (Adelaide Theatre Guide), Lively and engaging (Fringe Review), A superbly crafted piece of theatre... get a ticket while you still can (Glam Adelaide)
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