James Plays Epic for Adelaide Festival

The combined brilliance of the National Theatre of Scotland, the National Theatre of Great Britain and the Edinburgh International Festival will bring the Exclusive Australian premiere of an extraordinarily powerful historical trilogy to the Adelaide Festival of Arts in February. Lesley Reed reports on The James Plays.

Having previously applauded the stirring Adelaide Festival marathons of Roman Tragedies and The Mahabharata, Festival audiences are ready for the experience of another momentous theatre event…and they are in for an epic treat.

Promising bold and contemporary interpretation of historical and political intrigue,The James Plays are about to hit the Adelaide Festival. The stories of three Stewart kings in tumultuous 15th century Scotland, the gripping works are each complete in their own right. The three plays can be experienced as individual productions or in one day, as an eleven hour theatrical marathon.

The individual plays each stand alone as a unique narrative, that of a country dealing with its past and future. Each work also has its own distinct theatrical signature. Viewed together they are a compelling reflection of Scottish culture and nationhood.

A limited number of seats built into the stage will put some audience members at the heart of the action, but the entire audience will be spellbound as they are immersed in a rarely-explored and vividly imagined period of history.

Described by The Telegraph as "an astonishing dramatic achievement” and “the finest history plays ever penned” the trilogy is packed with royal games, power struggles and battles for the throne. This is historical drama for a contemporary audience.

Written by Rona Munro and directed by Laurie Sansom, the plays had their world premiere at the 2014 Edinburgh International Festival where they played to capacity houses, and at London’s National Theatre of Great Britain, playing to over 88,000 people. The plays received five-star reviews and went on to win the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best New Play and the Writers Guild Award for Best New Play (James I).

James I: The Key Will Keep The Lock

Poet, lover, a law-maker but also the product of a harsh political system, James I of Scotland was captured when he was only thirteen and became King of Scots in an English prison. Eighteen years later he's finally delivered back home with a ransom on his head and a new English bride. He's returning to a poor nation, the royal coffers are empty and his nobles are ready to destroy him at the first sign of weakness.

But James has his own ideas about how to be a king.

James II: Day of the Innocents

Innocent games merge with murderous intent in a violent royal playground of shifting realities and paranoia. When an eight year old boy is crowned King of Scots he becomes the prize in a vicious game between the country’s most powerful families. Whoever has the boy king controls the state. There is only one relationship the boy can trust, his growing friendship with another lonely boy, William, the future Earl of Douglas. The two boys cling together as they try to survive the murder and mayhem that surrounds them.

Seen through a child's eyes, the Scottish court is a world of monsters with sharp teeth and long knives.

James III: The True Mirror

The final instalment of Rona Munro’s trilogy is colourful, brash and unpredictable, like James III himself. It focuses on the beating heart of the royal court, its women, both lowly and high born.

James III of Scotland is a man who is irresistible, charismatic and a man of fashion and culture. He has big dreams and no budget to realise any of them. Obsessed with grandiose schemes that his nation can ill-afford and his restless nobles will no longer tolerate, James is both loved and loathed. Scotland's future will be decided by the woman who loves him most of all, his resourceful and resilient wife, Queen Margaret of Denmark. But the cost for Margaret herself may be too high.

The James Plays will come alive in the hands of an exquisitely talented ensemble of actors. The three ‘James’ roles are played by Steven Miller (Casualty, Black Watch) as James I, Andrew Rothney as James II and Matthew Pidgeon (RSC’s Wolf Hall, Edward II, The Wonderful World of Dissocia) as James III.

Cast and roles across the three plays:

Ali Craig- Big James / Ensemble / John

Andrew Fraser - Ensemble / David / Ramsay

Andrew Rothney - Walter / James II / Cochrane

Andrew Still - Ensemble / William / Ross                                                     

Blythe Duff  - Isabella  / Isabella  / Older Annabella                             

Brian James - Ensemble & music captain

Dani Heron - Ensemble / Annabella / Phemy

Daniel Cahill - Alasdair / Earl of Douglas / Jamie

David Mara - Ensemble / Ensemble & Crichton / Ensemble & Bishop

Fiona Wood  - Ensemble / Ensemble / Daisy

John Stahl  - Murdac / Livingston                                                     

Malin Crépin - Queen Margaret

Matthew Pidgeon- Henry V  / James III                                           

Nick Elliot - Ensemble / John Stewart / Ensemble

Peter Forbes - Balvenie / Balvenie

Rosemary Boyle- Joan / Joan / Mary                          

Sally Reid - Meg / Meg / Ensemble

Steven Miller- James I / Ensemble / Sandy    

Of these, new cast members are: John Stahl (Game of Thrones, Being Human), Andrew Still (Black Swan, Hollyoaks), Dani Heron (I Am Me, Casualty), Sally Reid (Rab C. Nesbit, Scot Squad), Brian Jamesand Rosemary Boyle.

Returning to the trilogy from the original cast are: Blythe Duff (Jackie Reid in Taggart, 1990 - 2010), Peter Forbes (Casualty, Eastenders, The Bill), Daniel Cahill, David Mara, Andrew Fraser, Fiona Wood, Nick Elliot, and Ali Craig.

The James Plays have stunned critics:

‘Furiously exciting. A high-stakes political thriller that never lets up.’ ★★★★★– Time Out

‘...the empathy and ambition of her (Rona Munro) and of Laurie Sansom’s productions...are matched only by their wit, punch and accessibility....this is theatre that mixes the political to fabulous effect.’ ★★★★★– The Times

‘A feast of blistering emotion and theatrical might.’ ★★★★★– The Telegraph.