The historical accounts from King Henry VIII and Queen Anne’s time are steeped in controvery, contradiction, and irony. Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was put to death on trumped up charges of adultery and incest. In fact, her husband, frustrated by his wife's failure to provide him with a son, simply wanted a way out of his marriage. Within days of Anne’s execution, Henry married his third wife, Jane Seymour. The injustice of Anne’s situation, coupled with the obvious hidden agendas and willful ignorance of the people in power make this story irresistibly compelling. In a fresh and remarkably contemporary take on this fascinating story, Patterson captures the intricate web of suspense, intrigue, and complicated human relationships in a script that is at turns hilarious, devastating, and disturbing, but, ultimately, uplifiting.

Debbie Patterson is a Winnipeg playwright, director, and actor. Trained at the National Theatre School of Canada, she is a founding member of Shakespeare in the Ruins (SIR), and the founder and current artistic director of Sick + Twisted Theatre. Playwriting credits include How It Ends, Sargent & Victor & Me, (both for Sick + Twisted Theatre) the musicals Head (SIR), Molotov Circus (SummerWorks), and numerous TYA shows for Prairie Theatre Exchange. In 2016, Debbie became the first physically disabled actor to play the title role in Richard III in a professional Canadian production. She was honoured with the United Nations Platform for Action Committee Manitoba’s 2014 Activist Award and the Winnipeg Arts Council Making a Mark Award in 2017. She was twice shortlisted for the Gina Wilkinson Prize. She is a proud advocate for disability justice, living a wheelchair-enabled life in Winnipeg and in a cabin on the shore of Lake Winnipeg with her partner and collaborator, Arne MacPherson.

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