Schiller's play of 1800 pits Mary Queen of Scots against her rival Elizabeth of England. The meeting never happened but, as Goethe said, 'It will be good to see those two whores alongside each other.' Schiller's Mary redeems her youthful crimes through an ordeal that lifts her into realms of spiritual serenity, while Elizabeth descends deeper into rage, revenge and deception.<BR>Peter Oswald, himself a verse dramatist, has written this new version in a mixture of prose and poetry. It was first performed at the Donmar Warehouse in a production directed by Phyllida Lloyd, with Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter.