Queen C

(Kuningatar K)

“When I was born, ten cannon shots were fired. This means: a son is born.”

Laura Ruohonen's Queen C is a marvelous and mysterious play. Based on Christina, the enigmatic mid-17th century Swedish monarch, Ruohonen's play explores the life of a woman centuries ahead of her time.

Queen C presents a woman who lives by her own set of rules. She vexes her contemporaries with unconventional opinions about sexuality and human identity, and ultimately abdicates the throne.

Ruohonen’s seamless blend of the past and present creates a vivid surreality that defies categorization -- much like the character at the heart of her play.

Queen C is a sensual, sometimes raucous, fully human portrayal of an uncompromising woman, and is full of provocative questions about the nature of identity.

First performed at the Finnish National Theatre in 2002, the play has since been translated into nine languages and produced at the Royal National Theatre, Sweden; Divadlo Cara, the Czech Republic; and Jacob van Lenneb Theatre, the Netherlands; and performed in stage readings in many countries.

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