←Recommendations of Holy and Unruly

A gorgeous and revelatory play about Queen Elizabeth that we all need to see onstage! So theatrical and lush in terms of its language and its scope while still being so producible. Great roles for women! Do this now!

A really exciting take on a Queen Elizabeth story! This is a side of her and a story I haven't seen before on stage or elsewhere. A powerful imagining of a conversation between two very powerful, and yet constrained, women, the challenges they face, and the bond that they create.

A fascinating take of the meeting of these two powerful women and I loved the way the poetic language helped to set the mood and time of the piece.

A truly unique and compelling piece of historical fiction presented with originality, intelligence, and energy.

The notion of a face-to-face meeting between Elizabeth I and an actual pirate would be a delicious recipe under any circumstances, but when that pirate is both female and an Irish rebel, the whole thing becomes just irresistible. A great many historical plays get bogged down in the language, but Beardsley gives us antique stylings that remain light on their feet and completely comprehensible. Verbal fencing leads to physical swordplay, but note that it's the men who resort to violence. Waiting in the wings are two haunts from Gloriana's past, the theatrical icing on this holy, unruly cake.

Playwrights Foundation enthusiastically recommends this play HOLY & UNRULY, as a Semi-Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020. We were moved by the quality of the writing and the relevant and compelling themes that spoke to the mission of our festival. It excelled in a competitive process of 735 plays submitted this year and rose to the top after a six month long process discussing its merits with both national and local Bay Area readers, and we hope it moves swiftly towards production.

In this engaging and relevant historical play, Beardsley explores the ways in which women have been time and again forced to carve out power in male dominated spaces through sacrifice and negotiation. "Holy and Unruly" successfully poses the question--is it worth the disempowering and limiting compromises that result? All of the characters in this play are distinctive and speak with clear and unique voices. The dialogue manages to feel of a different era but briskly-paced and cleverly worded. I would love to see the Unborn and Dudley realized with full theatricality onstage! I hope to track this play's development.

How does loyalty fare when monarchs exercise their power? David Beardsley explores the question in “Holy and Unruly,” his thought-provoking speculation about what transpired when the Irish pirate Grace O’Malley met England’s Queen Elizabeth I. Eschewing straightforward history, Beardsley employs wonderful stagecraft, especially in characters who embody Elizabeth’s regrets. Like a Greek chorus only the Queen and audience see, these characters comment on the action in mime and dance. At times humorous and unexpectedly violent, the play resolves in a confrontation where the Queen and Pirate choose loyalty to each other and rewrite the script on power.

Queen Elizabeth I has been depicted many times, but not quite in this manner. Holy and Unruly is a unique take on the Virgin Queen that goes deeper than politics and palace intrigue. This play delves into the very heart of one of history’s most complex figures. Moreover, it’s not a stuffy period drama but a work that exudes relevance for our times.