The Thistle and the Rose

Part of York International Shakespeare Festival

The Thistle and the Rose explores the extraordinary relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots.

Beginning with Mary's first letter to Elizabeth as she prepares to sail from France to Scotland to take up her Scottish throne, their letters, written over twenty-seven years, reveal their early relationship and their desire to live "like sisters" in Mary's words.

They also reveal the dangers they faced, the men they loved, their political struggles amid truth and deception and above all their overwhelming desire for the English throne: Mary to gain it and Elizabeth I to remain on it.

Their letters end with Mary's final letter to Elizabeth who has just signed her death warrant...