JAMES II : Day of the Innocents depicts a violent royal playground from the perspective of the child King and his contemporaries, in 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, 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.

First public performance : Festival Theatre Edinburgh, as part of a Edinburgh International Festival, on August 10, 2014, Edinburgh.

Director : Laurie Sansom.

9781848424203 (pbk.)