Tomorrow marks the start of Mary Stuart, a play directed by Javier Vialta and presented by the Sage Theatre. Mary Stuart tackles the age-old tale of the Queen of Scotland and her cousin, Elizabeth I, Queen of England.

In the play, Mary envies the power her cousin holds; Elizabeth envies the femininity of others. The conflict is also internal, because each is struggling with dreams that thwart her ambitions. The two monarchs portrayed in Mary Stuart were looked at in their time not as queens but as 'female kings,' enduring governmental and religious structures that would favour the impositions of males.

"While there's no evidence that these two women ever actually met, I am fascinated by the idea of speculative history," said artist director Jason Mehmel. "It allows us to use these figures to explore female power, energized with all of the historical context surrounding them."

The team at the Sage Theatre has taken a unique approach to pricing for the show. While the Sage says it has often worked with a flexible pricing model, this time show-goers will decide which tier of admission they'd like to pay (between $15-$60) after the show.

Mary Stuart runs from April 25 to May 4 at the Motel Theatre at Arts Commons.