Can a Mother Forget - Short-play

Artistic-Licence and Historical-Truth combine to prevail in this short play surrounding the last Elizabethan Execution. The alleged “treason of Robert-Devereux, Second-Earl of Essex” is presented in this intricate exposé on the so-called “Essex-Rebellion”. Essex, the son of Leticia is born of wealthy-nobility to soldierly ambition and merit. Leticia's secret-marriage to Dudley, much to the chagrin of Dudley's long-time mistress "Liz, the virgin-queene", sees her flying into a jealous-rage which leads to Dudley's “untimely-death”. Leticia marries Christopher “Blount”, who is both soldier-in-arms and friend to Essex. Essex enemy and eventual nemesis, “Robertus” Diabolus, intrigues behind Liz’ back to effect the “treason” of Essex, whose friends attempt to rescue him from certain-death by “persuading” the queene to relent in her judgment of Essex. The overriding-theme “Can a [woman] forget the child of her womb?” is resolved in a tag-scene at the end of the play via the only surviving personage of that era.