In the final day of her life, an ailing Elizabeth I clings desperately to her throne and her sanity. It has been eleven days since she last slept, and she rightly fears that if she allows herself to bed she may not rise again.

Lascivious, neurotic and narcissistic, the once stoic ruler is now stark raving mad. Her mind conjures up vivid memories and grandly paranoid delusions, first and foremost that William Shakespeare has plagiarised the events of her life in each of his famous plays. Suddenly, her boudoir transforms into The Globe Theatre, where the last few hours of her reign are played out in stratospherically high drama.

Not only must Her Royal Redness stave off pesky coups and conspiracies, she’s intermittently haunted by the headless ghost of her Scottish sister Mary. To make matters even worse, hunky heartbreaker Robert Essex is due any minute and Her Majesty is in no condition to receive guests. But that’s nothing a bit of leech-o-suction and a bee sting booblift won’t fix…

Drawing on all the energy, spirit and spontaneity of original 16th century commedia dellfarte, Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo (Accidental Death of an Anarchist) offers up a modern stage masterpiece which transcends language and culture. Elizabeth: Almost by Chance a Woman is in equal parts a bawdy burlesque, a riotous nose-thumbing of authority, and a surprisingly touching insight into the challenges of womanhood.

Monarch. Maiden. Superfreak. Itfs not easy being Queen.

Elizabeth plays 26 May – 24 June at the Powerhouse Theatre. Tickets: www.queenslandtheatre.com.au or call 3010 7600