Three Plays

Drama. THREE PLAYS is the second collection of plays by Mark Jackson, bringing together three recent works--God's Plot, Mary Stuart, and Salomania--all based on incredible historic events. God's Plot illuminates a little known chapter of American history, a 1665 case in which three American colonists were sued for blasphemy by a fourth for having performed a political play in their local tavern. Mary Stuart is an adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's dramatic reimagining of the final showdown between Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots. Salomania depicts the sensational 1918 libel case of dancer Maud Allan verses British MP Noel Pemberton-Billing, in which the former sued the latter for having accused her of being a lesbian, sadist, and German sympathizer as evidenced by her having performed in a production of Oscar Wilde's Salome. Playwright/director Mark Jackson has made his name as a first-class theatrical provocateur. Gutsy showmanship, brainy literary instincts, and laser-sharp satire mark his canon.San Jose Mercury News