The first play in this cycle by Rona Munro about 15th century Scottish monarchs whetted my appetite for more. Now I've seen parts two and three, I would really like to see all three of them again. Yes, they're that good.
What emerges from Laurie Sansom's direction of the second and third plays is the strong ensemble acting, and a subtle ability to vary the style and design. All these three plays are linked, but the themes they explore are different, giving the audience a fresh experience each time but still creating a cycle of plays that form an artistic whole. The last time I saw anything comparable was the RSC's cycle of Shakespeare's history plays at the Roundhouse in 2008.
Rona Munro's approach to dialogue is hardly Shakespearean, at least on the surface. 'You promised me family time,' Queen Margaret tells her husband James III when he ignores their children. Elsewhere she calls him an 'arse' to his face. Not very queenly, but a choice of words that tells us something about Margaret's character. Usually I am not that keen on dialogue that leaps out of period, but Munro is totally consistent in her choice of contemporary language, and that's why it works.
Actually, 'arse' is an understatement. James III comes out of the Kevin Pietersen school of monarchy. While he talks about going on a pilgrimage to Amiens, the only object he really worships is himself. Petulant and selfish, he ignores and insults his parliament, saying afterwards: 'They're my subjects. It doesn't matter how much I annoy them. What are they going to do?' Faced with this, his Danish-born queen is torn between her loyalty to James, a man she sincerely loves, and her increasing desperation at his flawed behaviour.
The strength of Munro's writing is her ability to blend the public and the private -- a truly Shakespearean gift. Her characters are memorable, and none more so than Queen Margaret, who emerges as the central character in the third play. Munro has rightly chosen to forget the history books and concentrate on Margaret's story, building up her role so that she actually supplants her feckless husband on the throne. While the other two plays also have good female parts, they remain subordinate to the mostly male struggle for political supremacy. But the third breaks new ground, helped by a terrific performance by Sofie Grabol as the queen.
There's a wonderful scene in which James visits his wife and gives her a Venetian mirror, an object of unimaginable scarcity and luxury in 15th century Scotland. Margaret for the first time sees herself and exclaims 'I like this woman'. The 'true mirror' is also a weapon she discovers she can use against other characters, such as her husband's 17-year-old mistress, who looks in the glass and discovers she is less pretty than she thought.
While the first two plays are dark and mediaeval, the third has a more modern flavour in its costumes, bringing them into the modern era. The characters still have broadswords, but they also savour fine wines, and the music and dancing that precede acts one and two have a contemporary twist.
Munro is capable of writing blockbuster scenes of rare power. In the second play, act two is dominated by a lengthy confrontation between James II and his childhood friend and playmate, whose refusal to submit to royal authority brings on his death. It's a splendid piece of writing, a climactic scene which brings to mind the clash between Mary and Elizabeth in Schiller's Maria Stuart.
History plays seldom come as good as this, though David Greig's Dunsinane, a sequel to Macbeth exploring the dangers of military occupation, impressed me so much that I saw it twice. Howard Brenton is probably the most prolific exponent of the genre, but his recent play 55 Days about Charles I and Cromwell at the Hampstead Theatre concentrated so much on the complex political story that the personal was given short shrift. His play about Indian independence didn't quite hit the target either.
I gather there has been some muttering in Scotland about Laurie Sansom's decision to 'blow the budget' on this hugely ambitious trilogy of plays at the expense of the National Theatre of Scotland's other work around the country. But in artistic terms, this sold-out season in the Olivier has been a triumph -- the biggest hit for Scottish theatre since Black Watch. I hope it will mean other Munro plays are revived in London.
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