Mary Queen of Scots pops up for special Canberra performance

Photo: Peter Hislop.

On Wednesday 22^nd August, the voices of Revival House Project’s Louise Keast and Shakira Ringdahl will ring out through Garema Place in a special preview performance of their upcoming show at Tuggeranong Arts Centre, ‘A Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots.’

‘A Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots’ is a cross-disciplinary residency, performance and exhibition project which will explore the life of Mary Stuart through art-song/lieder, live drawing, projection and costume design.

The project has been conceived by emerging artist collective Revival House Project, who are fast establishing a name for their innovative and experimental presentation of classical music.

Co-presented with Tuggeranong Arts Centre, the project is a collaboration between artists Louise Keast (soprano), Shikara Ringdahl (mezzo soprano), Helena Popovic (violinist) and Ella Luhtasaari (pianist) along with Shags (visual artist), and Hue MacCulloch (fashion designer).

‘A Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots’ centres on the performance of a song-circle of works exploring Mary Stuart’s life by composers Robert Schumann, Carl Loewe, Edward Elgar, Joachim Raff, and Richard Wagner. Throughout the performance, live drawing by Shags will be projected onto specially designed tudor-inspired gowns.

Following two live performances on Friday 24^th and Sunday 26^th August, an exhibition of costumes and video works will be on display in the Tuggeranong Arts Centre foyer from 28^th August to 8^th September.

With this project, Revival House Project aims to broaden the scope of the traditional vocal recital format by exploring the subject matter of Mary’s life and legacy and presenting it in new and experimental ways.

Mary Stuart lived an extraordinary life, reigning as Queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567 and Queen Consort of France from 1559 to 1560. But her life was also marred by scandal and tragedy – from the murder of her husband to her forced abdication and flight to England and her imprisonment and eventual beheading at the hands of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

In the centuries since her death, Mary’s tumultuous life and ongoing influence has generated a plethora of artistic responses, including the series of classical compositions which have inspired Revival House Project to revisit her life with this latest project.

‘A Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots’ is on at Tuggeranong Arts Centre at 7 pm, Friday 24 August and 5 pm, Sunday 26 August.

Tickets are $30 Adults and $20 Concession/Under 30s and can be booked via: www.trybooking.com/UWUG

A free exhibition of costumes and video works will be on display 28 August – 8 September.