SCOTTISH Ballet has announced a brand new production based on an “iconic” story.

Stunning photographs give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Mary, Queen of Scots, which will include an appearance by guest dancer Charlotta Öfverholm as Queen Elizabeth I.

Christopher Hampson, artistic director and CEO of Scottish Ballet, said: “The story of Mary, Queen of Scots is iconic, and part of our heritage in Scotland.

“It’s been told many times before, but rarely in dance.”

(Image: MIHAELA BODLOVIC)

He added: “Scottish Ballet produced a version way back in the 70s, so I thought it was timely for us to look at that story again, and who better to do so than our resident choreographer Sophie Laplane.

“Sophie’s take on the Mary/Elizabeth relationship is incredibly fresh - there’s a real playfulness in the way she’s working with the story and the characters. It’s a familiar story to us all, but it will be told in a very new way, which is so Scottish Ballet.”

(Image: Mihaela Bodlovic)

The ballet will be performed in a striking, contemporary set, with spectacular, period-inspired costumes. It is choreographed by the company’s choreographer in residence Sophie Laplane and designed by Soutra Gilmour, awardwinning Broadway and West End set and costume designer.

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Music will be composed by Mikael Karlsson and Michael P Atkinson, the team behind the stunning score for Scottish Ballet’s 2022 EIF hit Coppélia.

Scotland’s national ballet company, which is based at the Tramway on the Southside of Glasgow, has a bumper year planned for 2025, with a New Zealand Tour in spring (A Streetcar Named Desire, Dextera and Schachmatt) and the company’s first full-length dance feature film premiering in autumn, as well as Twice-Born in London and a Scottish tour of The Crucible.

Mary, Queen of Scots will come to the Theatre Royal in September 2025, as part of a Scottish tour following its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in August.