Swive [Elizabeth]

SWIVE
(archaic, transitive) To copulate with (a woman).
(archaic, transitive, dialectal ) To cut a crop in a sweeping
or rambling manner, hence to reap; cut for harvest.

Sex as power in the reign of Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth was a political mastermind and monarchic force who reigned supreme for 45 years, and yet she still felt that her power ultimately resided in her beauty.

Swive, a new play by award-winning writer Ella Hickson (The Writer, Almeida; ANNA, National Theatre) and directed by Natalie Abrahami (ANNA, National Theatre; Machinal, Almeida), interrogates the power of aesthetics in gaining and maintaining control in a patriarchy.

The power of kings is never predicated on their appearance. In Swive, Hickson shines candlelight on the savage pressure that women are under to sell themselves on their least interesting quality. If beauty is the key to survival, how do you hold on to what time will take away?

Access performances:
Relaxed: 8 February 2020
Captioned: 9 January 2020
Audio Described: 18 January 2020