Marie Stuart: TNP Villeurbanne Play Review & Tickets
A Clash of Queens: Schiller’s ‘Marie Stuart’ Opens in Villeurbanne
– Friedrich Schiller’s historical drama, ‘Marie Stuart,’ opens today at the Théâtre National Populaire (TNP) in Villeurbanne, France. The production, directed by Chloé Dabert and translated by Sylvain Fort, will run through .
The play centers on Mary, Queen of Scots, who has been imprisoned in England for eighteen years and is accused of plotting against Queen Elizabeth I. According to promotional material, Mary, as a Catholic, represents a threat to Elizabeth’s Protestant reign, with some considering her the legitimate heir to the English throne.
Bénédicte Cerutti stars in the title role of Marie Stuart. The cast also includes Brigitte Dedry as Hanna Kennedy, Marie Stuart’s nurse; Jacques-Joël Delgado as William Davison, Secretary of State; Koen De Sutter as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester; and Sébastien Éveno as William Cecil, Baron Burghley, and Grand Treasurer. Cyril Gueï portrays Amias Paulet, the knight who serves as Marie Stuart’s jailer, and Jan Hammenecker plays George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Keeper of the Seals. Tarik Kariouh appears as Drugeon Drury, a guard of Marie Stuart, and also as the Earl of Kent. Marie Moly Okelly plays a conspirator with Mortimer, and also takes on roles as a page and another guard. Océane Mozas embodies Elizabeth I, while Makita Samba portrays Mortimer, the nephew of Amias Paulet. Arthur Verret plays the French ambassador, the Count of l’Aubespine, and also Melvil, a former steward of Marie Stuart’s household, and another guard.
The production team includes assistant director Virginie Ferrere, dramaturg Alexis Mullar, set designer Pierre Nouvel, assistant set designer and general stage manager François Aubry dit Moustache, lighting designer Sébastien Michaud, sound designer Lucas Lelièvre, and costume designer Marie La Rocca. Costume construction is credited to Élise Beaufort, Bruno Jouvet, Armelle Lucas, Jeanne-Laure Mulonniere, and Anne Tesson, with stage assistance from Albane Cheneau, Nadou Abot, and Nele Veilhan-Goemans. Pauline Zurini of the Théâtre National de Strasbourg provided assistance with the workshops.
Performances are scheduled from Tuesday to Friday at 7:00 PM, Saturdays at 6:00 PM, and Sundays at 3:30 PM, with Mondays dark. The play’s runtime is 3 hours and 45 minutes, including an intermission. A special meeting with the cast and crew is scheduled for at 3:30 PM.
The TNP-Villeurbanne, a prominent regional theater in France, is hosting the production. The theater is referenced in academic research concerning staging and theatrical polemics, according to a dissertation found in the LSU repository.
Tickets are available through FNAC Spectacles and the TNP website. The production is presented by TNP Théâtre National Populaire – Villeurbanne (L-R-20-4774).