
Glory on Earth
Linda McLean(Author)
Nick Hern Books (Publisher)
Published on 18. May 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
88 pages
978-1-84842-675-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Whom shall I believe? And who shall be judge?'
Tuesday, 19 August, 1561, 9 a.m. Through the fog a ship arrives in Leith docks, and Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, steps ashore. She is eighteen and on her young shoulders rest the hopes of the Catholic establishment of Europe.
The nation that receives her has just outlawed her church and its practices. Its leader is the radical cleric and protestant reformer, John Knox. Both believe themselves ordained by God. Both believe themselves beloved by their people. Both were exiled and returned home... but only one can make Scotland their own.
Linda McLean's play Glory on Earth premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in May 2017, in a production directed by Lyceum Artistic Director David Greig.
Tuesday, 19 August, 1561, 9 a.m. Through the fog a ship arrives in Leith docks, and Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, steps ashore. She is eighteen and on her young shoulders rest the hopes of the Catholic establishment of Europe.
The nation that receives her has just outlawed her church and its practices. Its leader is the radical cleric and protestant reformer, John Knox. Both believe themselves ordained by God. Both believe themselves beloved by their people. Both were exiled and returned home... but only one can make Scotland their own.
Linda McLean's play Glory on Earth premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in May 2017, in a production directed by Lyceum Artistic Director David Greig.
Reviews / Votes
'Thrilling... a spirited portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots and her girl gang' * Guardian * 'A story crying out to be told... a call to arms for young women everywhere, to be fearless, regret nothing and to dance for dear life itself' * Herald * 'A clever and satisfying piece of theatre... asks big questions but frames them within a fascinatingly local context... the roots of Scotland's religious divide open up a debate with universal resonance' * The Stage * 'Compelling... McLean's big structural innovation is to place at the centre of the action a female chorus who play all the other roles, from courtiers to reformers to Privy Councillors. More importantly, however, they also act as the externalisation of Mary's own thoughts, and the queen's dialogue flows in and out of theirs symbiotically. It's very effective, and reinforces this as a woman's "unsilencing" of a previously male story' * WhatsOnStage * 'Audacious... McLean's language is elevated, rich and crisp' * Telegraph * 'Witty and playful' * The Times *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
113 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84842-675-7 (9781848426757)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
Linda McLean is a Scottish playwright based in Glasgow. Her plays include Glory on Earth, Every Five Minutes, Any Given Day, Sex & God, strangers, babies, Shimmer, Riddance, One Good Beating and Thingummy Bob.
She has written stage adaptations of Alice Munro's The View From Castle Rock for Stellar Quines and the EIBF, and of Denise Mina's The Long Drop for Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow.
Linda was the Creative Fellow at Edinburgh University's Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities in 2011. She was Chair of the Playwrights' Studio, Scotland from 2008-2015, and she is an artistic associate of Magic Theatre, San Francisco.
An anthology of her work, translated into French by Sarah Vermande and Blandine Pelissier, was published in 2015 by Actes Sud-Papiers.
She has written stage adaptations of Alice Munro's The View From Castle Rock for Stellar Quines and the EIBF, and of Denise Mina's The Long Drop for Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow.
Linda was the Creative Fellow at Edinburgh University's Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities in 2011. She was Chair of the Playwrights' Studio, Scotland from 2008-2015, and she is an artistic associate of Magic Theatre, San Francisco.
An anthology of her work, translated into French by Sarah Vermande and Blandine Pelissier, was published in 2015 by Actes Sud-Papiers.