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Early in Mary Tudor’s turbulent reign, Lady Catherine and Lady Mary Grey are reeling after the brutal death of their elder seventeen-year-old sister, and the succession is by no means stable. Neither sister is well suited to a dangerous career at court. Flirtatious Lady Catherine, thought to be the true heir, cannot control her compulsion to love and be loved. Her sister, clever Lady Mary, has a crooked spine and a tiny stature in an age when physical perfection equates to goodness—and both girls have inherited the Tudor blood that is more curse than blessing. For either girl to marry without royal permission would be a potentially fatal political act. It is the royal portrait painter, Levina Teerlinc, who helps the girls survive these troubled times. She becomes their mentor and confidante, but when the Queen’s sister, the hot-headed Elizabeth Tudor, inherits the crown, life at court becomes increasingly treacherous for the surviving Grey sisters. Ultimately each young woman must decide how far she will go to defy her Queen, risk her life, and find the safety and love she longs for.
Characters:
Female:
Narrator: Voice open to interpretation.
Line one: Recite a piece of poetry; use the following or one of your preference.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Lady Katherine Grey: Katherine is a very playful, flirtatious, dramatic, and charming young woman, known to hold men in the palm of her hand, also being her deceased fathers favorite of her two siblings. She is the daughter of Frances and sister to Mary and Jane Grey. She dies towards the end of the series. Katherine’s voice is preferred to be upper/Mid-Range; A soprano or Tenor for singing parts.
Line One: Harry Herbert, Harry Herbert, Harry Herbert, Harry Herbert!
Line Two: You have pretty hands and a pretty face, and you may be small of stature but you have great intelligence; and you may be crooked but you are good and kind. I am not good and Kind. You are worth a dozen of me.
Line Three: No, NO! Come back, come back my love! You cannot leave me now!
Line four: *Sing a song of your choice*
Lady Mary Grey: Mary is still a child for the most part, although she is very wise and smart. She was born with Scoliosis, making her abnormally small and bent, also a target in court. Her time in the Palace has been spent as the Queen's Monkey, having to sit on her majesty's lap and do her various tasks. She is very close to her mother, Frances Grey, and her two sisters, Jane and Katherine. She is the last survivor of her family at the end of the book. Her voice should be upper range and childlike, but can also become more mature later on.
Line one: I know I am not perfect; I am so hunched about the shoulders and crooked at the spine, I look as if I have been hung by the scuff on a hook for too long. And I am as small as an infant of five, despite being almost twice that age.
Line two: Do you ever imagine that animals have souls?
Line three: I remember Maman once saying of the old Queen that power corrupts. I have thought much on it and it seems to me that it is not power that corrupts, but the fear of its loss.
Line four: The Scottish queen is only saying what half the court thinks.
Levina Teerlinc: Levina, a renowned female painter, is the best friend of Frances Grey. She is very hotheaded and kind, often thought to be deranged for being in the Artist arena, which is commonly occupied by men. She has lived well with her Husband George and her Son Marcus, her earning well enough money on her own and paying majority of the bills, later facing hardships when her child leaves to enjoy the world and her marriage drastically falls apart. She now cares for Mary and Katherine, keeping them out of harms way while she goes on with her career. Her voice should be mid to low range.
Line One: How are you, George? You look tired.
Line Two: Fear has made her ruthless. She must fear plots everywhere, even between a mother and her condemned daughter.
Line Three: I will look after the girls-i promised it before and I promise it now-see they come to no harm
Line four: The Queen has asked to see my sketches and I cannot keep her waiting, but you must send word to me at once if it gets serious.
Lady Jane Grey: Jane is executed at the beginning of the series, due to the fact that she was a threat to the Queens Rule and was of a different faith. She appears throughout the series as a guiding voice for Mary. Voice should be Mid to Low range.
Line one: I die a true Christian woman and that I do look to be saved by no other mean, but only by the mercy of god.
Line two: God has singled me out for this. I go willingly to him, as an envoy for the new faith.
Line three: Its is time, maman.
Line Four: Protect Katherine, Maman. I fear she will not stand it so well.
Frances Grey: Frances is a very willowy and frail woman, leading to her death later on. Even so, she is very caring and strong-minded. She is the mother of Jane, Katherine, and Mary Grey. Voice open to interpretation.
Line One: If I had but a salt-spoon’s measure of your courage, Jane.
Line Two: Mary and I were girls together, you know. I feel not a drop of sadness, not after Jane. How power corrupts. And all those souls.
Line Three: I shall start a letter to the Queen. Mouse, would you find my writing box for me? I believe it is over there, by the window.
Line Four: I doubt it. The fanaticism for their faith runs through those poles like wood grain. The queen seems fond of him, but then I suppose she would be; he has brought england back to the pope.
Lady Jane Seymour: Jane is the best friend of Katherine Grey, them being as close as sisters. Jane dies later on in the series, her being very sickly throughout her entire life. Even so, she is very daring and energetic. Voice open to interpretation.
Line one: I am lady Jane Seymour, and you are indebted to me. I feel there is a potential for friendship between us, Katherine Grey. We have so much in common. *Whisper* Our fathers were both were executed for treason, and we are both close cousins to royalty. And I believe your mother, like mine, Is a duchess who has wed beneath her.
Line two: You’re not to run off with my brother and forget me altogether, Kitty Grey.
Line three: I hope my mother will not make me a match miles away. She was talking to the Percys in Yorkshire, but the boy died or it fell through for some reason. Imagine me there. It is so far.
Line four: Come on, Kitty. Let's go to my rooms. It's to dark for sewing anyways.
Queen Mary: Mary is a very hot-headed and sensitive Queen, married to a Spanish Prince whom isn’t as interested in her as she is in him. Because of her rule, all people not of her faith or suspected of so were publicly executed on her orders, she believing that she was ‘Wiping away sin’ and ‘Pleasing God’. She’s also known for having many miscarriages, leading up to her going mad and ultimately dying mid-book. Voice open to interpretation.
Line one: God is showing me his gratitude for my faith, for restoring the true religion to England. Knowing that a little God-Given prince germinates in me brings me more joy than I can describe.
Line two: For goodness sake, if we can’t dispense with the formalities when we are alone with you, then who? Use “madame,” if you must insist on anything other than my given name.
Line three: We want everyone held. Everyone who shows even the slightest sign of heresy. And if they will not recant they will be burned-all of them.
Line four: Ah, little Mary. You are one of the faithful too, now that traitor father of yours has been dispensed with and...You are one of the faithful?
Queen Elizabeth: Elizabeth becomes Queen after the death of her sister, Queen Mary. She is very playful and smart. Voice open to interpretation.
Line one: You have such depth for someone so young, just as well no one will want to wed you, Mary. Men do not like wives who think to deeply on things.
Line two: I have news of another plot of late. It appears now that Huntingdon would see himself on my throne. Seems to think a dribble of Plantagenet blood is enough. There is always someone who would like to take my place. See, ladies, how our family needs to stand united.
Line three: Ask permission and have it refused, yet wed anyway. And it is a far greater misdemeanor to float a direct command than if you simply marry having asked nothing.
Line four: Songbird? That caterwauling? *Laugh*
*There are various other roles of Maids, Court Woman, ect. to be given out*
Men
Narrator: Voice open to interpretation.
Line one: Recite a piece of poetry; use the following or one of your preference.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
George Teerlinc: George is husband of Levina, whom he calls ‘Veena’. George is constantly frustrated by how ‘Veena’ makes more money then him, making her the one responsible for their higher living, although he loves her and supports her career all the same. Although he has mostly grown out of it, George’s stammer that he’s had since childhood comes out when ever he has a strong emotion. Voice should be mid to upper range.
Line one: Don’t stop drawing. I like to watch you draw.
Line two: I look old...do I truly look this old?
Line three: I fear the c-c-c...The consequences of this new union, Veena.
Line four: The Queen will be married by now. God alone knows what changes will occur. I fear there will be burnings. There was a fight in Smithfield earlier today. Worse than usual. Bonner thrashed a man for not raising his eyes to the host at mass. That started the trouble.
[MORE MAJOR MALE ROLES TO BE LISTED]