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'A party of tourists are being, shown through Edinburgh Castle when a tale told by the guide, coupled with the music of a spinet, recreates in the mind of one of them an episode of the past, in which she fancies herself to be taking part. After the due interval of dimmed lights and rippling music this episode comes on the stage. After an other similar interval the dreamer returns to the present' ('Polygon.' 'Two Local Plays,' p.15).
The fantasy story revolves around Mary Queen of Scotts and her infant son (later King James I of England). The title of the refers to the Queen's four maids-in-waiting who are all named Marie.
Notes
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The Queen's Marie was awarded first prize in the 1934 Melbourne Dramatist's Club Play Competition. It received a reading at the Nicholas Building Little Theatre on 20 March that same year.
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In his West Australian review of the 1935 production Paul Hasluck ('Polygon') writes:
Miss Tweedie has a very good stage sense, skill in handling her material., and an ability for neat workmanship In all the arrangements of her little fantasy. Her writing is clear and bright. But after it is all over, all one can say is. 'Charming little thing, wasn't it?' It takes more than a girlish tourist's musings to make a play. If she could feel dramatic emotion she already is capable enough to write quite a good play ('Two Local Plays,' p.15).
Production Details
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1935: Assembly Hall, Perth; 5-6 July
- Director Nancy Lee; Producer Perth Repertory Theatre Society.
- Cast: Peggy Nunn, Mabel Starr, Denise Dingwall, Joan Everett, BettyHancock, Shirley hall, Nancy Hollingsworth, Gordon Dean, P. Shappere, A. J. Bishop.
- Staged along with Centurion by Western Australian writer/dramatist Alexander Turner, and two international works - The Mask by F. Tennyson Jesse and H. M. Harwood, and A Happy Journey by Thornton Wilder.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Plays by Local Authors : For Repertory Productions
1935
single work
review
— Appears in: The Daily News , 20 June vol. 55 no. 18799 1935; (p. 11)
— Review of The Queen's Marie 1934 single work drama ; Centurion : A Drama in Two Scenes 1937 single work dramaA preview of the forthcoming Perth Repertory season of four one act plays. The programme included two works by local authors - The Queen's Marie (Phyllis Tweedie) and Centurion (Alexander Turner).
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Two Local Plays : Repertory Club Productions
1935
single work
— Appears in: The West Australian , 6 July 1935; (p. 15)
— Review of Centurion : A Drama in Two Scenes 1937 single work drama ; The Queen's Marie 1934 single work drama'To make excuses for local products or to treat them on a different level from any other products is to insult. So, it is hammer and tongs for the two plays by West Australian writers which were presented by the Repertory Club at a club evening in the Assembly Hall last night. The first play was The Centurion, by Mr. Alexander Turner, of Pingelly. It gained second place in the club's short play competition earlier in the year.... Miss Phyllis Dorrington Tweedie, the author of The Queen's Marie, the second play, is more capable than Mr. Turner in many directions, but emotion is the quality she lacks...'
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Dramatist's Club, Melbourne [Meeting Report]
1934
single work
column
— Appears in: All About Books , 12 April vol. 6 no. 4 1934; (p. 85) -
Dramatists' Club One-Act Play Competition Results
1934
single work
column
— Appears in: All About Books , 14 February vol. 6 no. 2 1934; (p. 39) -
Play Competition : A Talented West Australian
1934
single work
column
— Appears in: The South Western Advertiser and Murray-Wellington Times , 9 February 1934; (p. 1)
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Two Local Plays : Repertory Club Productions
1935
single work
— Appears in: The West Australian , 6 July 1935; (p. 15)
— Review of Centurion : A Drama in Two Scenes 1937 single work drama ; The Queen's Marie 1934 single work drama'To make excuses for local products or to treat them on a different level from any other products is to insult. So, it is hammer and tongs for the two plays by West Australian writers which were presented by the Repertory Club at a club evening in the Assembly Hall last night. The first play was The Centurion, by Mr. Alexander Turner, of Pingelly. It gained second place in the club's short play competition earlier in the year.... Miss Phyllis Dorrington Tweedie, the author of The Queen's Marie, the second play, is more capable than Mr. Turner in many directions, but emotion is the quality she lacks...'
-
Plays by Local Authors : For Repertory Productions
1935
single work
review
— Appears in: The Daily News , 20 June vol. 55 no. 18799 1935; (p. 11)
— Review of The Queen's Marie 1934 single work drama ; Centurion : A Drama in Two Scenes 1937 single work dramaA preview of the forthcoming Perth Repertory season of four one act plays. The programme included two works by local authors - The Queen's Marie (Phyllis Tweedie) and Centurion (Alexander Turner).
-
Dramatists' Club One-Act Play Competition Results
1934
single work
column
— Appears in: All About Books , 14 February vol. 6 no. 2 1934; (p. 39) -
Dramatist's Club, Melbourne [Meeting Report]
1934
single work
column
— Appears in: All About Books , 12 April vol. 6 no. 4 1934; (p. 85) -
Play Competition : West Australian's Success
1934
single work
column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 5 February 1934; (p. 8)'Miss Phyllis Tweedie, a 20-year-old student at the University of Western Australia, received news last week that she had won first prize in a one-act play competition conducted by the Melbourne Dramatic Club...'
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Play Competition : A Talented West Australian
1934
single work
column
— Appears in: The South Western Advertiser and Murray-Wellington Times , 9 February 1934; (p. 1)
