Mary QoS Ballet for EIF
Scottish Ballet to premiere Mary, Queen of Scots ballet at EIF 2025
Scottish Ballet is adding a new full-length narrative ballet about Mary, Queen of Scots to its repertoire, with a premiere at next summer’s Edinburgh International Festival, followed by a Scottish tour.
The ballet is being choreographed by the company’s choreographer in residence, Sophie Laplane and will be created with James Bonas (The Crucible) to a score by Mikael Karlsson and Michael P Atkinson, the team behind the score for SB’s 2022 EIF hit Coppélia.
Roseanna Leney (Mary) with Charlotta Öfverholm (Elizabeth) in a crop of the campaign image for Mary, Queen of Scots by Scottish Ballet. Pic: Gavin Smart.
The ballet will tell the story of Mary, Queen of Scots through the eyes of Queen Elizabeth I, based on her perceived and imagined relationship with Mary, as Elizabeth revisits her past a few hours from death.
It will be performed on a striking, contemporary set, designed by Soutra Gilmour – whose design for & Juliet is at the Playhouse just now – with spectacular, period-inspired costumes.
fluid and intergenerational
Casting will be fluid and intergenerational, with various members of the company playing the part of Elizabeth I, including guest dancer Charlotta Öfverholm, who will play her in her later years.
Roseanna Leney with Charlotta Öfverholm in a behind-the-scenes image from the campaign shoot for Mary, Queen of Scots. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic.
Announcing the new project, Christopher Hampson, Artistic Director and CEO of Scottish Ballet said: “The story of Mary, Queen of Scots is iconic, and part of our heritage in Scotland. It’s been told many times before, but rarely in dance.
“Scottish Ballet produced a version way back in the 70s, so I thought it was timely for us to look at that story again, and who better to do so than our resident choreographer Sophie Laplane.
“Sophie’s take on the Mary/Elizabeth relationship is incredibly fresh – there’s a real playfulness in the way she’s working with the story and the characters. It’s a familiar story to us all, but it will be told in a very new way, which is so Scottish Ballet.”
short Scottish tour
The production will open at the Edinburgh International Festival in August (dates tbc) before a short Scottish tour to the Theatre Royal Glasgow (Wed 17-Sat 20 Sep 2025), Eden Court, Inverness (Fri 26-Sat 27 Sept 2025) and His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen (Thurs 2-Sat 4 Oct 2025).
This is the fifth and final ballet in Scottish Ballet’s Five from Five campaign, launched in 2019 to commission and stage five new full-length ballets in five years. It follows The Crucible, The Snow Queen, The Scandal at Mayerling and Coppélia.
Roseanna Leney (Mary) with Charlotta Öfverholm (Elizabeth) in the campaign image for Mary, Queen of Scots by Scottish Ballet. Pic: Gavin Smart.
ENDS
