Elizabethan Jazz Hands (ft Louise Banham)

London, 1592. Shakespeare is writing plays, Queen Elizabeth I is ruling with an iron fist, and Louise Banham has just arrived with a plan to beat the Bard to the punch by writing Macbeth: The Musical. Her mission: become ruler of England through the power of jazz hands. It's a strategy that nobody, in any century, has attempted before.

Louise's approach to Elizabethan power: infiltrate the theatre scene, secure a face-to-face meeting with the Queen, and deploy the one weapon that Tudor England has no defence against. The Game Master's identity is a mystery this week — the AI has been instructed to embody a famous pop culture figure, and working out who is half the fun. Meanwhile, Louise is pitching musical theatre to a monarch who had people executed for less ambitious proposals.

Elizabethan London was the crucible of English drama — the Globe Theatre was about to be built, Shakespeare was hitting his stride, and the theatre was one of the few places where social classes mixed. Queen Elizabeth I was a savvy political operator who used patronage, propaganda, and the occasional beheading to maintain her grip on power. The idea that she could be swayed by jazz hands is optimistic at best. But Louise is committed.