Untitled

1. When (time period) is the play set?
- The play is set in the early 16th century.

- The actual events(marriages) took place in the Tudor Period(1485-1603). The Tudor
period was when England went through numerous changes in religion and a growth of
English culture. During this time period, the crown was passed through 3 generations of
monarchs.
- The actual marriages took place between the years of 1509-1547(see list below).
Length of marriages:
Aragon: 1509-1533
Boleyn: 1533-1536
Seymour: 1536-1537
Cleves: 1540-1540
Howard: 1540-1542
Parr: 1543-1547
1A. Where is the play set?

- Purgatory; place between heaven and hell
- London, England
- Early 16th century/mid-tudor period
2. What type of characters are in the production?

- Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleeves, Kathrine Howard,
Katherine Parr
- The queens are used in this story to torture Henry in the hopes that he learns his
lesson.
- Henry the 8th
- Henry was the king of England, and he is the main antagonist in this story and is
stuck in purgatory and being tortured by his ex-wives and the fool.
- The Fool
- He resembles the devil to Henry, but more of an angel-like character to the
queens.
3. What is the tone of the production?

- One emotion that sticks out to me would be pain. Specifically because Henry has lived
through the loss and death of the children and women he “loved”, and he is now in
purgatory and being put through the pain and torture of it again for eternity.
4. Which characters stand out to you for your project?

- The Fool; The Fool is the “narrator” of the play. He recites poems about each queen, and
adds in commentary as the play progresses to give more detail/move the story along,
hence the line, “2 down”. The Fool is a mixture between angel and devil. He is an angelic
figure to the queens because he has helped them through their grief and welcomed
them into the afterlife. He was more of a devil figure to Henry because he has been
torturing him and trying to get him to learn his lesson. He does this by putting Henry
through the story of his 6 marriages and all of his wives’ outcomes(divorce, beheading,
and death). You could say The Fool is a representation of what purgatory is, a place
between heaven and hell that isn't good but isn't bad.
- Anne Boleyn; She is the second wife of Henry and is later beheaded. She is an
interesting character because not only was she a queen, but her story intrigues me in a
way the others don't. Not only was she basically Henry’s side chick, but her sister(Mary
Boleyn) had also been with Henry not long before. When she was queen, she gave birth
to her daughter Elizabeth(Queen Elizabeth I), and later had 3 miscarriages in the hopes
of getting a son. Henry was furious because he had wanted a son, and decided to move
on from Anne to Jane Seymour. When Henry was trying to find a way to get rid of Anne,
he decided to behead her. Anne died on May 19, 1536.
5. What challenges does the production present from a technical aspect?

- From a technical standpoint, one challenge could be showing the journeys of each
queen. For example, the beheadings are complicated because you can either go with a
literal standpoint and have the queens on a chopping block, or you could do a more
representative version and utilize the other queens and the gossips to support her and
show how all of their stories connect.
- Another challenge could be the actual purgatory. The purgatory is where Henry is being
trapped and you could show him being stuck there multiple ways. You could use a
cage/cell type of configuration, have handcuffs(without the chain in the middle) on either
wrist to show how he’s imprisoned in this state, or in the lighting show a red coming from
the stage to show hell, and a blue coming from above the stage to show heaven. This
would give the allusion of him being stuck between heaven and hell.
6. What inspiration do you find in the play for your designs?

- The inspirations for the costumes would come from a mix of time period and colors
seen/visualized in the show itself. Time period would be more general, but color would
be based off of both time period and what colors mean emotion wise, as well as
historically. If there is a color each queen wore most/shows up in portraits of them, we
would take inspiration from it.
- For makeup design, it would be primarily based on the time period, but throw in some
bright accents as well(lipstick, eyeshadow, etc). This would also be based on which
colors align with each queen's story. One time period makeup piece would be pale face
makeup and an almost coral blush.
- Hair could go multiple ways, it could either be completely time period, or bring in pieces
inspired by the time period. Each queen would also be a little different due to the fact
they weren't all the queen at the same time. One thing seen in multiple hairstyles is the
use of braids. Incorporating braids into each hairstyle would be a good way to stay true
to the time period.
7. Economics Commentary
- Social classes were decided on a few different things, one being economic status(wage,
wealth, etc.).
- Although they had plenty of people who could work, wages were low and not high
enough to live off of.
- People who were wealthier often wore more colors due to the price.
8. Social Commentary
- The working class was paid hardly anything, and if they were, it wasn’t enough to live.
- The class the queens would fall under was definitely comfortable, they may not have
been quite on Henry’s level, but they had plenty of money to afford gowns, jewelry,
accessories, etc.
- The class Henry would fall under was rich, you could compare it to aristocratic almost.
He had plenty of money, used it on tangible objects to show off with, and didn’t care
about anyone below him.
- During this time, the church began to branch off and people didn’t have to be Roman
catholic.
- By 1500 the population of Europe had increased after 2 centuries of being really low due
to medieval times and the plague.
- In the 16th century, there was a rise in witchcraft accusations leading to the witchcraft
craze that took place in the beginning of the 17th century. Witchcraft became a capital
offense in 1542, but was revoked 5 years later. Hence why Henry called Anne Boleyn a
witch.
- War, rebellions, constitutional crisises, economical depression, and a demographic
crisis(social class).
9. Environmental Commentary
- There was lots of pollution due to the industrialization of England.
- Global temperatures dropped leading to the failure of many harvests.
- There was an epidemic disease between the late 1300s and early 1500s known as “The
Black Death”. This caused a drop in the mortality rate of England.
10. Cultural Commentary

- Most people were still Roman catholic, but it was no longer the standard to be now that
Henry had broken from the church.
- It was common for women to leave their hair up in some form of braids or curls.
- It became a standard for women to wear skirts, conservative clothing, and have a tiny
waist. However, if they were too skinny, no one would marry them because they
“wouldn’t be able to give birth to a child”.
11. Historical Commentary

- In the early 16th century, there was a population boom, which boosted the economy,
agricultural commercialization, export of wool, and trade.
- Around this time, social classes became more significant due to association being
important.

Untitled

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Copyright:

Available Formats

Untitled

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Untitled

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1. When (time period) is the play set?

- The play is set in the early 16th century.

1A. Where is the play set?

2. What type of characters are in the production?

3. What is the tone of the production?

4. Which characters stand out to you for your project?

5. What challenges does the production present from a technical aspect?

6. What inspiration do you find in the play for your designs?

10. Cultural Commentary

11. Historical Commentary

You might also like