James I: The Key Will Keep the Lock
Scottish national pride takes centre stage in a spectacular display of robust, finely crafted theatre in which events drawn from the mists of medieval history are shown to be vitally relevant to understanding who we are today.
There is a message here for NZ politicians aiming to develop a sense of national identity as the show emphatically demonstrates that investment in the arts is a far more fruitful enterprise than indulging in a costly re-branding exercise.
Performed by the National Theatre of Scotland, the James Plays delve into the obscure 15th century history of Scotland's early kings but the action is presented with such clarity there is no need for a Google search.
Playwright Rona Munro uses modern idioms and her treatment of grand themes like love, loyalty and betrayal obliterates the boundary between the personal and political.
James I spent his formative years as a prisoner in the English court and his return to the Scottish throne with an English wife was part of a scheme to keep Scotland as a vassal nation - but James had other ideas.
His humanist vision of government based on taxation and respect for the law runs up against the fierce independence of unruly clans; Steven Miller's captivating performance makes us feel the young king's humiliation in being treated as outsider in the country of his birth.
The tensions between tribalism and a desire for nationhood are brilliantly encapsulated in John Stahl's nuanced performance as the Regent, Murdac Stewart, who must step aside to accommodate the new king. At the heart of the story is a contemporary romance that speaks of the fraught but always intimate relationship England and Scotland.
The King's English bride, played by Rosemary Boyle, is eager to please but she is a practical girl who has little time for her husband's heartfelt notions of romantic love.
The show has been unwisely compared to Game of Thrones and while the script does not shy away from the ruthless brutality of the medieval world there is none of the lingering fixation on acts of cruelty.
