Scottish Ballet to Bring MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS to Lincoln Center in June
The production is choreographed by Scottish Ballet Choreographer in Residence Sophie Laplane — her first full-length narrative work.
Scottish Ballet will bring Mary, Queen of Scots to New York for its premiere at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, June 4–7, 2026, following its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival and US Premiere at Spoleto Festival. Told through the eyes of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the ballet reframes her perceived and imagined relationship with Mary, Queen of Scots, as she revisits her past in the final hours of her life.
Revisiting one of history's most charged relationships — the fraught dynamic between Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I — Mary, Queen of Scots, unfolds through movement that carries both majesty and vulnerability. The ballet blends historical record with imaginative interpretation to illuminate the woman behind the legend — her intelligence, ambition, heartbreak and fierce resilience. With striking design, a live orchestral score and inventive theatricality, the work captures the tension between power and faith, loyalty and loss, revealing the private cost of public authority and the human story beneath a centuries-old myth. Rooted in Scotland's cultural heritage yet crafted with a contemporary sensibility, the ballet resonates with themes as urgent today as they were in Mary's time.
The production is choreographed by Scottish Ballet Choreographer in Residence Sophie Laplane — her first full-length narrative work — and created in collaboration with director James Bonas (The Crucible). It features designs by award-winning set and costume designer Soutra Gilmour, whose Broadway and West End credits include Merrily We Roll Along, & Juliet, Sunset Boulevard, Romeo & Juliet, Into The Woods and The Tempest.
The original score, composed by Mikael Karlsson and Michael P Atkinson, reunites the acclaimed creative team behind Scottish Ballet's 2022 Edinburgh International Festival hit Coppélia. The score will be performed live by the New York City Ballet Orchestra.
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