11 Minutes Theater Company presents Elizabeth Rex by Timothy Findley, Thursday-Saturday, April 27-May 13, and Industry Night, May 8 (all proceeds go to the Denver’s Actor Fund), 7:30 pm, at The People’s Building located at 9995 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO 80010. Elizabeth Rex, directed by Tiya Trent and Janine Ann Kehlenbach, is a reimagined account of the night that Queen Elizabeth I of England banters and spars with Shakespeare and his actors of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men on the eve of the execution of her supposed lover, Lord Essex.

The idea of gender roles and the belief and expectations associated with them, has existed forever. In Elizabeth Rex by Timothy Findley, questions around these roles take the forefront in this funny, provocative and soulful drama about a group of Shakepeare’s actors, including Shakespeare himself, as they duel and banter with each other, and Queen Elizabeth, when she requires their attendance backstage after their performance of Much Ado About Nothing, the night before her suspected ex-lover and hero to England, the Earl of Sussex, is to be executed. Although the play takes place mostly during the Elizabethan period in London, as a society, we are still investigating and discovering what we think gender means, and we know that biases, inequality and misunderstandings still arise around this contentious subject. A favorite line in the play is, as spoken by Queen Elizabeth when she addresses the leading male actor, Ned, who plays the leading female roles in the productions, is, “If you will teach me how to be a woman…I will teach you how to be a man.” Queen Elizabeth, regarded as one of the strongest monarchs that ever lived, chose not to marry, and led England with such ferocity during very troubling times, while having to deal with playing the role of the supreme sovereign in order to protect her country. This play explores what Elizabeth might have given up in order to compete in a very male dominant world. Brilliantly, however, in this play, we also hear a male point of view, and how masculine characteristics are also construed by society, politics and culture. Elizabeth Rex was first produced in 2000 at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada and won the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award.

Tickets may be purchased on-line via 11minutestheatre.com or at the door.