So sure of myself in this hour :the women of the Tower of London

Abstract

The Tower of London and its role as a prison have become the stuff of legend, particularly in regard to the women who were imprisoned there, such as Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth L and who were forced to be strong in the face of an oppressive culture. Additionally, the Tower's heyday as a prison coincided more or less with the Elizabethan and Jacobean golden ages of drama in England. By using drama to examine some of the women who found their lives entwined with the Tower, we are forced to ask why their lives landed this way in the first place, and what drove them to keep fighting until they either succeeded or were killed. Here, I use historical research and the medium of theatre to imagine the defining decisions of five of the Tower's most intriguing women. I ask the audience to reexamine the way we view women, and what power we have, even when it seems that all is lost.