The James Plays

A trio of new history plays by Rona Munro, are a co-production between the National Theatre, the National Theatre of Scotland and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Directed by Laurie Sansom. The ensemble cast will include Cameron Barnes, Daniel Cahill, Ali Craig, Blythe Duff, Peter Forbes, Sofie Gråbøl (as the Danish-born Queen Margaret), Sarah Higgins, Stephanie Hyam, Gordon Kennedy, David Mara, Beth Marshall, James McArdle (James I), Rona Morison, Andrew Rothney (James II), Mark Rowley, Jamie Sives (James III) and Fiona Wood.

Exhilarating and vividly imagined, THE JAMES PLAYS bring to life three generations of Stewart Kings who ruled Scotland in the tumultuous fifteenth century. Each play stands alone as a unique vision of a country tussling with its past and future; together they create an intricate and compelling narrative on Scottish culture and nationhood, full of playful wit and boisterous theatricality.

James I: The Key Will Keep The Lock
Through bold and irreverent storytelling James I explores the complex character of the colourful Stewart king – poet, lover and law-maker.

Captured at the age of 13 and crowned King of Scots in an English prison, James I of Scotland is delivered home 18 years later with a ransom on his head and a new English bride. The nation he returns to is poor; the royal coffers empty and his nobles ready to tear him apart at the first sign of weakness. Determined to bring the rule of law to a land riven by warring factions, James faces terrible choices if he is to save himself, his Queen and the crown.

James II: Day of the Innocents
A violent royal playground is depicted in James II: a terrifying arena of sharp teeth and long knives.
James II becomes the prize in a vicious game between Scotland’s most powerful families. Crowned when only six, abandoned by his mother and separated from his sisters, the child king is little more than a puppet. There is only one friend he can trust: William, the future Earl of Douglas.
As James approaches adulthood in an ever more threatening world, he must fight to keep his tenuous grip on The Crown while the nightmares of his childhood rise up once more.

James III: The True Mirror
Like the king himself, James III is colourful and unpredictable, turning its attention to the women at the heart of the royal court. 

Charismatic, cultured and obsessed with grandiose schemes that his nation can ill afford, James III is by turns loved and loathed. Scotland thunders dangerously close to civil war, but its future may be decided by James’ resourceful and resilient wife, Queen Margaret of Denmark. Her love and clear vision can save a fragile monarchy and rescue a struggling people.