| Original name |
Kuningatar K |
| Kirjoittajat |
Laura Ruohonen |
| Original language |
Finnish |
| Premiere year |
2003 |
| Theater |
Suomen Kansallisteatteri / Finnish National Theatre |
| Keywords |
Drama |
Performances abroad
Dramaten, Sweden 2005;
Divadlo Cara, Czech Republic 13.4.2005;
Jacob van Lennep-theatre, Verse Waar -festival, Breda, Netherlands 2003;
Göppingen, Germany 2005;
Eislingen, Germany 8.10.2005;
Lit Moon Company, USA 8.-17.6.2007;
Avignon festival(staged reading), Oldenburg 2002 and 25.7.2003;
(staged reading)Gate theatre + Tron theatre, Glasgow 2003;
Synopsis
Laura Ruohonen: Queen C (Kuningatar K, 2002)
Characters: 3f 3m
"When I was born, ten cannon shots were fired. This means: a son is born."
What happens to a person who strives for complete independence, a person who chooses their own homeland, religion, gender and identity? Does this mean freeing oneself from all sense of attachment? Is this real freedom?
Laura Ruohonen's (b. 1960) play Queen C is captivating and enchanting; it presents us with a young ruler, who refuses to assume the weaker role, a woman who rides horses, swears and swash-buckles like a man; who speaks all the languages of the world and invites the greatest thinkers of the age to her court; a woman who swam against the tide, lived by her own set of rules and was prepared to rule the entire world but never to be ruled herself. When one day she discovers a mysterious eel growing ever larger in the castle well, the young queen realises that she has been brought face to face with her own destiny. She does not hesitate but decides to change her whole life, and move like the black shining eel towards freedom, to rid herself of other people's demands and expectations.
Laura Ruohonen has a phenomenal ability to write about serious issues in a thrilling and perceptive way; to write theatre encompassing melancholy, outbursts of joy, moments of absurdity and great poetic vision. Her surreal sense of humour and the magical atmosphere of the play, qualities which have almost become her hallmark, guide the audience through the crossfire between these duel realities, in which values and ideas are happily discarded and the events of the day are given close scrutiny.
In her play Queen C Ruohonen skilfully brings together two opposing worlds: the present day and the golden age of the great Swedish empire, whose ruler, the intelligent and audacious Queen Christina, vexed her contemporaries with her opinions and eventually abdicated the throne claiming that the soul has no gender. Queen C is also essentially a story of deep human friendship and loyalty: it deals with the attempt to be faithful to oneself, even if this means the greatest of deceptions.
Eija Mäkinen, translated by David Hackston
Translations
| Language |
English |
| Translation name |
Queen C |
| Translators |
David Hackston |
| Julkaisija |
Lasipalatsi Media Centre Ltd |
| Copies available |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Drama agency |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Language |
French |
| Translation name |
La Reine C |
| Translators |
Anne Colin du Terrail |
| Julkaisija |
Lasipalatsi Media Centre Ltd |
| Copies available |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Drama agency |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Language |
German |
| Translation name |
Königin C |
| Translators |
Angela Plöger |
| Julkaisija |
Lasipatsi Media Centre Ltd |
| Copies available |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Drama agency |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Language |
Dutch |
| Translation name |
Koningin C |
| Translators |
Adriaan van der Hoeven |
| Copies available |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Drama agency |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Language |
Hungarian |
| Translation name |
Krisztina |
| Translators |
Éva Pap |
| Julkaisija |
Polar Alapítvány |
| Copies available |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Drama agency |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Language |
Czech |
| Translation name |
Kralovna K |
| Translators |
Hana Worthen |
| Copies available |
aura-pont(at)aura-pont.cz |
| Drama agency |
Aura-pont, Radlická 99, 15000 Praha 5 , aura-pont(at)aura-pont.cz |
| Language |
Swedish |
| Translation name |
Drottning K |
| Translators |
Camilla Frostell |
| Copies available |
Colombine Teaterförlag, Gaffelgränd 1 A, 11130 Stockholm, Sweden, info(at)colombine.se |
| Drama agency |
Colombine Teaterförlag, Gaffelgränd 1 A, 11130 Stockholm, Sweden, info(at)colombine.se |
| Language |
Spanish |
| Translation name |
La Reyna C |
| Translators |
Juan-Luis Moreno |
| Copies available |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Drama agency |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Language |
Danish |
| Translation name |
Dronning K |
| Translators |
Rene Semberlund Jensen |
| Copies available |
Nordic Drama Corner, www.dramacorner.fi, office(at)dramacorner.fi |
| Drama agency |
Nordic Drama Corner; office (at) dramacorner.fi |