shakespeare's three marys
DESCRIPTION
Slides from production by the Dark lady Players in September 2009 of Shakespeare's Three MarysTRANSCRIPT
SHAKESPEARE’S THREE MARYS
By the Dark Lady Players
September 2009
www.darkladyplayers.com
About this production
• This unique production interspersed scenes of the Virgin Mary characters (Juliet, Ophelia and Desdemona) with their parallel characters in the York mystery plays
• The objective was to show how the Shakespearean heroines are parodies of the Virgin Mary
1. Romeo &Juliet: the Annunciation/Nurse’s Scene
Romeo & Juliet; Lady Capulet and Nurse Angelica say it is time for
Juliet to get Mary-ed
Romeo & Juliet; Nurse has referred to Susan(nah), meaning a Lillythe symbol of the annunciation
2. Hamlet; In the York Mystery plays, Mary is sewing in her closet
Joseph addresses Mary(from the York Mystery plays)
Hamlet, an allegory for the sun god Helios, has made Ophelia pregnant
through his light
Pregnant Virgin Mary watches Ophelia, no longer pregnant, holding
her abortive flowers
Ophelia distributes her abortive flowers
Ophelia offers Mary a piece of Rose-mary, to wear with a
difference
Mary and her Lilly ascend to Heaven; In parallel Ophelia is
abut to fall off the tree
Virgin Mary with the Lilly
3. Othello; Desdemona with Othello in the background
Death of Desdemona like a Christ figure
Photos © John Watts