On entering the Ballroom at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh you see the back of the open stage set out for a pop concert, so expectations rise. Will this be a hard rock event like a Meatloaf concert?  Sadly not.

Billed as the world premiere of Mary, Queen of Rock by Pretty Knickers Productions, a female led Scottish musical, it tells the story of Mary, Queen of Scots. The time is 1561. Elizabeth I is on the English throne and there is an uneasy peace between Scotland and England. Mary who has a claim to the Scottish throne and possibly England as well has just returned from exile in France

The musical at just over 1 hour 20 minutes, has created a big problem for itself; unlike the hugely successful Six which started at the Festival, it has a lot more history to tell. The cast are dressed as “rock chicks” who dance and speak in modern day idiom and they also double as minor players in the story.

For those who don’t know the story of Mary, she had unfortunate relationships, usually resulting in death of the man, a child of an indeterminate father and an inability to deal with the Presbyterian and competing Catholic Churches. She is used as a pawn by the Catholic factions wanting to replace Elizabeth: it does not end well.