''Vivat! Vivat Regina!'' is a play written by Robert Bolt. It debuted at

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

in 1970 and later at the Piccadilly Theatre London. Principal actors were Sarah Miles and Eileen Atkins. The play was directed by Peter Dews and designed by

Carl Toms Carl Toms OBE (29 May 1927 – 4 August 1999) was a British set and costume designer who was known for his work in theatre, opera, ballet, and film. Education Carl Toms was born in 1927 at Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England. His p ...

. Richard Pearson also played a role. Later, the play had a successful run on Broadway in 1972. The play tells the story of two rival

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

s who never met:

Scotland's Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to t ...

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

and her cousin, Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. The play's title is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

for "Long live! Long live the Queen!", and is taken from the

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

at the Coronation Service. The first act contrasts the personalities of the two monarchs, as they engage in a battle of wiles. Elizabeth is portrayed as a woman who has given up on love and family in order to maintain a firm grasp on power, while Mary is portrayed as a reckless, impulsive woman ready to risk power for love. The second act concentrates on Mary's term as a prisoner of Elizabeth, during which time she reflected on her own pending execution. Eileen Atkins played Elizabeth in the play's British and American debuts. Bolt's wife Sarah Miles played Mary in the original British production, while

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty film ...

played Mary in the play's Broadway debut. The 1972 Broadway production received four

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

nominations: Best Play, Best Actress in a Play ( Eileen Atkins), Best Featured Actor in a Play ( Douglas Rain), and Best Featured Actor in a Play ( Lee Richardson). A 1985 off-Broadway revival featured

Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acad ...

as Elizabeth and Sabra Jones as Mary. The play was, next to '' A Man for All Seasons'', Bolt's most successful stage production, receiving several Tony nominations for its Broadway production.

Notes and references

External links

* {{IBDB show, 9119 Broadway plays English plays Works by Robert Bolt 1970 plays Cultural depictions of Elizabeth I Cultural depictions of Mary, Queen of Scots Plays set in Scotland Plays set in England Plays based on real people