PRESENTED BY MAJOR MEDIA PARTNER MEDIA PARTNER SUPPORTED BY

The James Plays TalksTalks with Director Laurie Sansom and Associate Director Luke KernaghanJune 18 & 19, 3 pm – 3:45 pm (between James I and James II) Side Room FREELaurie Sansom, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the National Theatre of Scotland and director of the James Plays, in conversation with Associ-ate Director Luke Kernaghan, on the challenges of staging a trilogy of plays simultaneously, and how to prepare for 8 hours of performances in a day. 

luminatofestival.com JUNE 10–26 To purchase tickets visit the box office located at the main entrance of the Hearn or call 416-368-4849

photo by David Eustace

Lucille Joseph and Urban Joseph, O.C.Gretchen and Donald RossEli and Phil Taylor

Presented as part of the 10th anniversary Luminato Festival, June 10 to 26, at the Hearn Generating Station

Luminato is Toronto’s global multi-arts festival dedicated to performance, visual art, music, theatre, dance, multi-media, magic and more. Each year, the Festival presents a free and ticketed program of local and international artists delivering adventurous art and ideas in adventurous places.

In its first decade, Luminato has become one of the preem-inent international arts festivals in North America, having com-missioned close to 100 new works of art, with more than 3,000 performances featuring 11,000 artists from over 40 countries.

This June, celebrating its first-ever residency, Luminato will #TurnOnTheHearn, temporarily transforming the Hearn Generating Station, an epic decommissioned power plant and one of Canada’s most majestic industrial landmarks, into the world’s largest cultural and community centre under one roof with a theatre, a music stage, a site-specific performance space, restaurants, bars and more. luminatofestival.com

Contributing to the cultural fabric of our community.

BMO is proud to support the Luminato Festival and bring you Rona Munro’s critically acclaimed The James Plays.

The James Plays

CREATIVE TEAM

CO-PRODUCED BY National Theatre of Scotland, National Theatre of Great Britain and Edinburgh International Festival

WRITTEN BY Rona Munro

DIRECTOR Laurie Sansom

SET AND COSTUME DESIGNERJon Bausor

LIGHTING DESIGNER Philip Gladwell

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR Neil Bettles

ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGNER JAMES I & JAMES IIChristopher Shutt

SOUND DESIGNERS FOR 2016 REVIVAL OF JAMES IIChristopher Shutt & Nick Sagar

SOUND DESIGNER JAMES IIINick Sagar

COMPOSER JAMES I & JAMES II Paul Leonard-Morgan

COMPOSER JAMES III Will Gregory

FIGHT DIRECTORS Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown, of RC-Annie Ltd.  

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Luke Kernaghan

ASSOCIATE SET & COSTUME DESIGNER Jean Chan

ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER Rob Casey

SOUND ASSOCIATE JAMES I & JAMES II  Nick Sagar

SOUND ASSOCIATE Kevin Murray

MUSICAL DIRECTOR Alasdair Macrae

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Caitlin Skinner

CASTING DIRECTOR Laura Donnelly

“Robin” composed by Will Gregory and Alasdair Macrae

Pre-show arrangements, additional arranging and hammered dulcimer by Alasdair Macrae

Additional piping arrangements by Cameron Barnes

Additional Voice Work by Ros Steen

JUNE 16–26

JAMES I (2h 35m)Thurs June 16 8 pmFri June 17 8 pmSat June 18 12 pmSun June 19 12 pmTues June 21 8 pmSat June 25 12 pmSun June 26 12 pm

JAMES II (2h 35m)Sat June 18 4 pmSun June 19 4 pmWed June 22 8 pmSat June 25 4 pmSun June 26 4 pm

JAMES III (2h 45m)Sat June 18 8:30 pmSun June 19 8:30 pmSat June 25 8:30 pmSun June 26 8:30 pm

Introduction by Rona Munro (playwright)

These are stories, epic stories, and, hopefully, they are entertainment. However, they are set within a period of Scottish history that is virtually unknown. I feel a certain responsibility, therefore, to alert you to the fact that some small liberties have been taken with known events in order to serve our stories. Certain characters represent amalgamations of many people, or stand for political forces within Scot-land. Certain events have been altered in time to maximize the drama.

However, as far as narrative imperatives allow, I have followed history and used primary sources. The most striking details, the strangest and most compelling stories are the ones that have come down to us over the centuries, as good stories do, surviving long after their protagonists.

You should also know that you are about to engage with human stories imagined from a human per-spective. These people were contemporary to their own century as we are to ours, and human nature has not, I imagine, changed very much over 600 years. Our circumstances are different from those of these dead kings and queens and long gone Scots — but, arguably, not as different as we might think.

I have translated and used words from the 15th century within the plays, so you will hear songs with lyrics taken from “The Kingis Quair”, the love-poem written by James I himself. There are versions of work by the wonderful poet Robert Henryson and of anonymous authors whose words have come down to us. If any ghosts are offended by my appropriation and free interpretation of their work I hope they will still appreciate the wider publicity.

Nothing in my professional life has ever given me such a potent combination of a joy, terror and excitement as The James Plays did when they were first staged in 2014. Nothing else has yet matched my delight at hearing they would receive a second production. As playwright it can often feel like a miracle to get a piece of work from commission to production once. Second productions are rare and very precious. In this case, given the scale of the plays I know I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to everyone who has invested faith, talent and money into bringing them back to life.

I’ve now had the privilege of working with extraordinary companies on these plays. I learned an enormous amount from all of them and have had the delightful opportunity to feed that understanding back into the plays for these second productions.

But a particular debt is owed now, and always to Director Laurie Sansom who has shared the vision and brought it to life. It was an impossible task. He produced impossible levels of determination and energy to meet it.

I hope you will all feel some of our joy, terror and excitement as you watch the plays.

PRODUCTION TEAM

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Neil Murray

PRODUCER Margaret-Anne O’Donnell

PRODUCTION MANAGER Chris Hay

COMPANY MANAGER Mandy Whittaker

STAGE MANAGER Cynthia DuBerry

DEPUTY STAGE MANAGEREmma Skaer

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Jo Phipps

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Ali Biggs

PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN Paul Claydon

LIGHTING PROGRAMMER Liam Jones

LIGHTING SUPERVISOR AND RE-LIGHTSMarec Joyce

LIGHTING TECHNICIAN Jon Meggat

LIGHTING TECHNICIAN Abbi Fearnley

PRODUCTION SOUND ENGINEER Andrew Kirkby

PRODUCTION SOUND TECHNICIAN Fergus Lockie

SOUND NO 1Daniel Evans

SOUND NO 2 Amy Spencer

COSTUME AND WARDROBE SUPERVISORLouise Robertson

WARDROBE TECHNICIAN Nicky McKean

WIGS AND MAKE UP TECHNICIAN Michelle Lyons

WIGS TECHNICIAN Kirstin McCubbin

PRODUCTION CARPENTER Jes Baines

PRODUCTION CARPENTER Mike Hall

STAGE SUPERVISOR David Mason-Hill

STAGE TECHNICIAN Iain Ramponi

TOURING COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Sarah Wilson

HAMMERED DULCIMER MADE AND SUPPLIED BY Tim Manning

BORDER PIPES MADE AND SUPPLIED BY Hamish Moore

SET BUILT AND PAINTED BY Set-up (Scenery) Ltd

This vividly imagined trilogy presents a compelling narrative on Scottish culture and nationhood — a country tussling with its past and future — by connecting the men who ruled from 1406 to 1488 to the political climate of today. Each play, featuring an ensemble of Great Britain’s finest performers, is presented as a standalone piece: James I: The Key Will Keep the Lock, James II: Day of the Innocents and James III: The True Mirror.

#JamesPlays

Each play has a 20 minute intermission

HEARN THEATRE

FOUNDING GOVERNMENT PARTNER MAJOR PARTNER PRESENTING PARTNERS

JAMES I

JAMES II

JAMES III

JAMES I

JAMES II

JAMES III

JAMES I

JAMES II

JAMES III

JAMES I

JAMES II

JAMES III

JAMES I

JAMES II

JAMES III

Rosemary Boyle

Nicholas Elliott

Sian Mannifield

Sally Reid

Daniel Cahill

Andrew Fraser

David Mara

Andrew Rothney

Ali Craig

Peter Forbes

Steven Miller

John Stahl

Malin Crépin

Dani Heron

Calum Morrison

Andrew Still

Blythe Duff

Brian James O’Sullivan

Matthew Pidgeon

Fiona Wood

Joan, an English noblewoman, later wife to James I

Joan, mother to James II, King of ScotsMary, wife of James II

Ensemble

Ensemble

John Stewart, a Scottish Lord

Ensemble

Ensemble

Ensemble

Ensemble

Meg, a lady of the Scottish court

Meg, a lady of the Scottish court

Ensemble

Alasdair Stewart

Earl of Douglas

Jamie, eldest son of James and Margaret

Ensemble

Davy Douglas, the Earl’s younger brother

Ramsay, the King’s personal servant

Ensemble

Crichton, Earl and Keeper of Edinburgh Castle

Ensemble / Musician

Walter Stewart

James II

Cochrane, a lord of the court

Big James Stewart

Ensemble/ Hume

John, Head of the Privy Council

Balvenie, of the Douglas family

Balvenie, of the Douglas family

—

James I

Ensemble

Sandy, the King’s younger brother

Murdac Stewart, Regent of Scotland

Livingston, Earl and Keeper of Stirling Castle

—

—

—

Margaret, Queen of Scots

Ensemble

Annabella, the King’s sister

Phemy, a lady of the court

Ensemble/ Musician

Ensemble/ Musician

Ensemble/ Musician

Ensemble

William Douglas, Balvenie’s son

Ross, middle son of James III and Margaret

Isabella Stewart, Regent Consort

Isabella Stewart

Annabella, the King’s aunt

Ensemble

Ensemble

Tam, a member of the household/ Musician

Henry V, King of England

—

James III

Ensemble

Ensemble

Daisy, a laundress

The Company would like to thank:Cameron Barnes, Sofie Gråbøl, Sarah Higgins, Stephanie Hyam, Gordon Kennedy, James McArdle, Beth Marshall, Rona Morison, Mark Rowley, Jamie Sives, Mervyn Miller, Amanda Gaughan, Jeannette Nelson, Charlotte Bevan, all the staff at the Citizens Theatre, Deaf Connections, Beacon Arts Centre, Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh , the orig-inal production team from the 2014 production of the James Plays and all the staff at Luminato Festival.

National Theatre of ScotlandThe National Theatre of Scotland reaches its tenth birthday in 2016. Being a theatre without walls and building-free, it presents a wide variety of work that ranges from large-scale productions to projects tai-lored to the smallest performing spaces. In addition to conventional theatres, the Company has performed in airports, schools, tower blocks, community halls, ferries and forests.

The Company has toured extensively across Scot-land, the rest of the UK and worldwide. Notable produc-tions include Black Watch by Gregory Burke which won four Laurence Olivier Awards amongst a multitude of awards, a radical reimagining of Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, presented in Glasgow and at the Lincoln Cen-ter Festival and subsequently, Broadway, New York and Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, adapted by Lee Hall from Alan Warner’s novel, The Sopranos.

The National Theatre of Scotland creates much of its work in partnership with theatre-makers, companies, venues and participants across the globe. From extraor-dinary projects with schools and communities, to the ground-breaking online 5 Minute Theatre to immersive pieces such as David Greig’s The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, the National Theatre of Scotland’s as-piration is to tell the stories that need to be told and to take work to wherever audiences are to be found.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Laurie SansomCHAIR Seona Reid DBEnationaltheatrescotland.com

The National Theatre of Scotland is core funded by the Scottish Government. The National Theatre of Scotland, a company limited by guar-antee and registered in Scotland (SC234270), is a registered Scottish charity (SC033377).

Edinburgh International FestivalEvery August, the giants of the arts world gather in the stunning city of Edinburgh in Scotland for the Inter-national Festival. For three exhilarating weeks the city becomes an international cultural epicentre with the finest creators and performers from the worlds of clas-sical music, theatre, opera and dance offering intense, personal and exciting experiences to those who come

from Scotland, the UK and overseas.As a vibrant, innovative organization, involved in

commissioning and producing new work from the very best artists working internationally, while also nurturing grass roots arts engagement on its doorstep, the Fes-tival contributes to many aspects of life, be it culture, economy, education and society, and enhances the lives of people not just in Edinburgh and Scotland, but around the world.

The 2016 Edinburgh International Festival runs from August 5-29, 2016. Find out more at eif.co.uk

The Edinburgh International Festival is supported by The City of Edinburgh Council and Creative Scotland. Scottish Charity Number SC004694.

National Theatre of Great BritainThe National Theatre of Great Britain is dedicated to making the very best theatre and sharing it with as many people as possible.

We stage up to 30 productions at our South Bank home in London each year, ranging from re-imagined classics – such as Greek tragedy and Shakespeare – to modern masterpieces and new work by contemporary writers and theatre-makers. The work we make strives to be as open, as diverse, as collaborative and as national as possible. Much of that new work is researched and developed at the NT Studio: we are committed to nurturing innovative work from new writers, directors, creative artists and per-

formers. Equally, we are committed to education, with a wide-ranging Learning programme for all ages in our new Clore Learning Centre and in schools and communities across the UK.

The National’s work is also seen on tour throughout the UK and internationally, and in collaborations and co-pro-ductions with regional theatres. Popular shows transfer to the West End and occasionally to Broadway; and through the National Theatre Live programme, we broadcast live performances to 2,000 cinemas in 50 countries around the world. Through National Theatre: On Demand in Schools, three acclaimed, curriculum-linked productions are free to stream on demand in every secondary school in the country. Online, the NT offers a rich variety of inno-vative digital content on every aspect of theatre.

We do all we can to keep ticket prices affordable and to reach a wide audience, and use our public funding to maintain artistic risk-taking, accessibility and diversity.

CHAIR OF THE NT BOARD Damon BuffiniDEPUTY CHAIR Kate Mosse DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL THEATRE Rufus Norris EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lisa Burger

Box office and information +44(0) 20 7452 3000 National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX nationaltheatre.org.uk

Registered Charity No: 224223

Synopsis

Cast

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF LUMINATO IN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF WAYS.

BECAUSE YOU’RE WORTH IT.

Untitled-4 1 5/25/16 5:22 PM

James I: The Key Will Keep The LockJames I of Scotland – a poet, a lover, a law-maker, and the product of a harsh political system – ascends to the throne while facing backstabbing political plots to unite his coun-try. Captured at 13 to become the King of Scots and held in an English prison, he is delivered back home 18 years later with a ransom on his head and a new English bride. Return-ing to a poor nation, where the royal coffers are empty and his nobles are ready to tear him apart at the first sign of weakness, James is determined to bring the rule of law to a land riven by warring families, but is forced to make terrible choices to save himself, his Queen and the crown.

James II: Day of The InnocentsJames II, an eight-year-old boy newly crowned King of Scots, is the prize in a vicious game between the country’s most powerful families. Growing up alone, abandoned by his mother and separated from his sisters, there is only one relationship James 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.

The independence and power of young adulthood brings James into an even more threatening world. He has to fight the feuding nobles who still want to control him, make brutal choices about the people he loves, and struggle to keep his tenuous grip on the security of the crown and on his sanity.

James III: The True MirrorJames III of Scotland is irresistible and charismatic – a man of fashion and culture with big dreams but no budget to realize any of them. Obsessed with grandiose schemes that his nation can’t afford and his restless nobles will no longer tolerate, James is loved and loathed in dangerously unsta-ble proportions.

Scotland’s future may be decided by the woman who loves him best of all – his resourceful and resilient wife Queen Margaret of Denmark. As dreams battle brutal realities and the nation thunders dangerously close to regicide and civil war, her true love and clear vision offer the only protection that can save a fragile monarchy and rescue a struggling people. But for Margaret, the cost may be too high.