EIF Scottish Ballet Mary, Queen of Scots Festival Theatre Edinburgh 15th August 2025 Review
Scottish Ballet - Mary, Queen of Scots at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh tonight was the World Premiere of the story of possibly the most famous woman in Scottish History and, for me, one of the highlights of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival.
To some people, this subject matter might seem an odd one to turn into a ballet, but when you think about it, the life of Mary, Queen of Scots has everything in it that you could ask for – love, ambition, betrayal, political intrigue, murder and an execution. The question really has to be asked is “Why has this not been done before”?
Mary, Queen of Scots the ballet is a co-creation between Scottish Ballet’s choreographer in residence Sophie Laplane and director James Bonas, and here they have created a work that is both bold in its contemporary dance style while also being firmly rooted in classical dance techniques. An unusual perspective from which to tell this story plus a visually striking set and costume design mark this work out as one that has had a lot of creative input at every stage of its creation.
Here, a combination of set and costume design (Soutra Gilmour), lighting design (Bonnie Beecher) and production and video design (Anouar Brissel) has created a monochrome world for Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I of England to inhabit. This whole production is a bit like a giant chess set as the political intrigue and power plays of this story unfold. Here we have the virgin Queen Elizabeth I in white and Mary in black. This colour contrast is very subtle, but very effective when we reach the point in this story of plots against the English Queen.
There are actually two Queen Elizabeths on stage in this story and we begin with the older one who has reached the last day of her life and is dancing alone, reflecting upon her life and in particular her memories of Mary Queen of Scots. The role of the older Elizabeth is performed by Charlotta Öfverholm, a dancer with a long international career. The role of young Queen Elizabeth is one that I am not giving away in this review as it will be a bit of a spoiler. Needless to say, this choice is not an obvious one and it gives the whole production a very distinctive edge to it whilst also having some real historical significance.
Mary, Queen of Scots is a perfect role for Roseanna Leney as it offers so much scope for exploration, and Sophie Laplane’s choreography has made this character so different from that of Queen Elizabeth in so many obvious and very subtle ways. Mary was only six days old when her father King James V of Scotland died and she was only 16 years old when she was married to the Dauphin of France and became Queen of France. It is at this wedding that we as an audience join her story.
It is difficult to write this review and not give too much of this story away, but the choreography for young Queen Elizabeth is very distinctive and I think it will surprise a few people. As the older Queen Elizabeth who moves in and out this story as we share her memories with her, Charlotta Öfverholm gives a performance that is full of emotion, pain, and more than a tinge of regret at her actions of the past. By contrast, Roseanna Leney as the young Mary, Queen of Scots is full of the joys of life, being young, being in love, and to a large extent being rather naïve as to the very dangerous political position that she was in both in Scotland, but also in England. This is very interesting physical and emotional performance from Roseanna Leney.
The other main players in this story, Rizzio (Javier Andreu), Darnley (Evan Loudon), and Walsingham (Thomas Edwards) are all very effective in their respective roles, but one new role, that of the Jester, allows Kayla-Maree Tarantolo the opportunity to steal more than a few scenes in this production.
A lot of the atmosphere of this production is down to the music, and here Mikael Karlsson and Michael P Atkinson have created a soundtrack that combines elements of musical styles from this period with contemporary music to suit the very minimalist modern visuals of this work.
Mary, Queen of Scots is, I think, a work that Scottish Ballet will be performing for a very long time to come.
Review by Tom King © 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
To some people, this subject matter might seem an odd one to turn into a ballet, but when you think about it, the life of Mary, Queen of Scots has everything in it that you could ask for – love, ambition, betrayal, political intrigue, murder and an execution. The question really has to be asked is “Why has this not been done before”?
Mary, Queen of Scots the ballet is a co-creation between Scottish Ballet’s choreographer in residence Sophie Laplane and director James Bonas, and here they have created a work that is both bold in its contemporary dance style while also being firmly rooted in classical dance techniques. An unusual perspective from which to tell this story plus a visually striking set and costume design mark this work out as one that has had a lot of creative input at every stage of its creation.
Here, a combination of set and costume design (Soutra Gilmour), lighting design (Bonnie Beecher) and production and video design (Anouar Brissel) has created a monochrome world for Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I of England to inhabit. This whole production is a bit like a giant chess set as the political intrigue and power plays of this story unfold. Here we have the virgin Queen Elizabeth I in white and Mary in black. This colour contrast is very subtle, but very effective when we reach the point in this story of plots against the English Queen.
There are actually two Queen Elizabeths on stage in this story and we begin with the older one who has reached the last day of her life and is dancing alone, reflecting upon her life and in particular her memories of Mary Queen of Scots. The role of the older Elizabeth is performed by Charlotta Öfverholm, a dancer with a long international career. The role of young Queen Elizabeth is one that I am not giving away in this review as it will be a bit of a spoiler. Needless to say, this choice is not an obvious one and it gives the whole production a very distinctive edge to it whilst also having some real historical significance.
Mary, Queen of Scots is a perfect role for Roseanna Leney as it offers so much scope for exploration, and Sophie Laplane’s choreography has made this character so different from that of Queen Elizabeth in so many obvious and very subtle ways. Mary was only six days old when her father King James V of Scotland died and she was only 16 years old when she was married to the Dauphin of France and became Queen of France. It is at this wedding that we as an audience join her story.
It is difficult to write this review and not give too much of this story away, but the choreography for young Queen Elizabeth is very distinctive and I think it will surprise a few people. As the older Queen Elizabeth who moves in and out this story as we share her memories with her, Charlotta Öfverholm gives a performance that is full of emotion, pain, and more than a tinge of regret at her actions of the past. By contrast, Roseanna Leney as the young Mary, Queen of Scots is full of the joys of life, being young, being in love, and to a large extent being rather naïve as to the very dangerous political position that she was in both in Scotland, but also in England. This is very interesting physical and emotional performance from Roseanna Leney.
The other main players in this story, Rizzio (Javier Andreu), Darnley (Evan Loudon), and Walsingham (Thomas Edwards) are all very effective in their respective roles, but one new role, that of the Jester, allows Kayla-Maree Tarantolo the opportunity to steal more than a few scenes in this production.
A lot of the atmosphere of this production is down to the music, and here Mikael Karlsson and Michael P Atkinson have created a soundtrack that combines elements of musical styles from this period with contemporary music to suit the very minimalist modern visuals of this work.
Mary, Queen of Scots is, I think, a work that Scottish Ballet will be performing for a very long time to come.
Review by Tom King © 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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