This week, the University of Idaho Theatre Arts Department kicks off their production of “Love, Liz” at the Hartung Theater, starting Jan. 30. Written by UI alumna Lauren Grove, this historical comedy tells a humorous tale about Queen Elizabeth I and her friends, whose lives are rife with romance and rumors.
“This is about Queen Elizabeth I, the first English monarch who is not a man. She’s in this position, where women are in such a lower position societally than men at the time, but she’s now placed at the top of the hierarchy in England,” Blake Watson, the director of “Love, Liz,” said. “It’s about her trying to navigate coming from this position, where she doesn’t have power, to suddenly being the most empowered person and her figuring out she still doesn’t quite get the same privileges that the men get, even as a queen.”
Underneath the lighthearted jokes and witty dialogue, the play tackles more serious themes rooted deep in history. “Love, Liz” explores the power of women, how women are seen in the Renaissance and how it reflects women’s current struggles in this century, and what it means to choose your own path,” Grove said.
Queen Elizabeth I faces the pressure of marrying and having children after ascending to the English throne. Her refusal to follow through with that expectation is the driving point of the play.
“I see a lot of parallels to the way that we treat women now, and there’s a lot of discussion about ‘she has to marry’ and ‘she has to have kids,’ and I think that a lot of women watching the show will relate to that same kind of pressure,” said Watson. “I still think that women are asked way more than men, and I think people will see a lot of commonalities in [the characters].”
Watson has been directing plays since he was 19, originally in theater for acting and then switching paths later on. Last spring, he directed UI’s “Orlando” at the Forge Theater and said that the Hartung is a significant change from that experience. “[The Forge] was a much smaller, much more intimate space, and this is pretty big and expansive in comparison. It’s been a challenge to try to adapt to that and then trying to navigate six or seven actors on stage at one time.”
Through hilarious banter and heartbreak, the actors starring in “Love, Liz” are what really tie this play together, according to Watson. “One of the great things that the actors bring is just their own ideas and their own sense of relationship with the other characters and the other actors on stage. That always changes things and makes it deeper and more interesting.”
“Love, Liz” will run at 7:30 pm on Jan. 30-31 and Feb. 1, 7-8, and at 2 pm on Feb. 2 and 9. Admission is free for UI students, $26 for general, $6 for 18 and under, $16 for military and seniors (55+) and $21 for UI employees. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://uitickets.evenue.net/events/ARTS.
Layla Phillis can be reached at arg-life@uidaho.edu.