Raw Material & Capital Theatres present
JAMES V: KATHERINE
“If a young woman made you smile, you wouldnae want to see her set on fire, would you?”
One woman’s love story during a time that changed Scotland forever.
Written by Rona Munro
Directed by Orla O’Loughlin
Designer: Becky Minto
Composer / Sound Designer: Danny Krass
Lighting Designer: Derek Anderson
Associate Director: Eve Nicol
Movement Director & Intimacy Co-ordinator: Janice Parker
Supported by Chris Grace Hartness.
Funded by the Creative Scotland Touring Fund.
Cast: Sean Connor (River City, Moorcroft) Catriona Faint (Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning, Enough Of Him), Benjamin Osugo (Alföld, A Christmas Carol) and Alyth Ross (Dalgliesh).
Touring Scotland April-June 2024
World Premiere: Wed 10 April 2024, Capital Theatre’s THE Studio, Edinburgh
In Spring 2024 Rona Munro’s renowned James Plays continue, with a fifth standalone production set to surprise and delight audiences across Scotland.
A Raw Material and Capital Theatres co-production, James V: Katherine continues the theatrical series with the vivid historical storytelling of the previous instalments, set during the reigns of Scotland’s generations of Stewart kings. James V places a lesser-known female historical figure front and centre in the story, with an intimate and up-close performance with focussed, raw and humorous storytelling, directed by Orla O’Loughlin (Enough Of Him / What Girls Are Made Of / Mouthpiece).
The play is based on real historical figures and is a dramatic interpretation of key events at the very start of the Scottish Reformation, events that did happen and did change Scotland forever. It is also a love story.
The production will premiere in Capital Theatres’ The Studio in Edinburgh, before embarking on a tour of smaller-scale Scottish venues with stops in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Tobermory, Inverness, Dunoon, Dunkeld, St Andrews, Stirling, Peebles and Melrose.
Katherine Hamilton is nineteen. She’s a respectable young married woman, but she also has a secret love she’s trying to forget. When her brother, Patrick, is executed for preaching ideas forbidden by the church, Katherine is put on trial for her life too. She too will be tortured and executed unless she denounces her brother. Devoted and defiant, Katherine refuses, as she believes Patrick’s death might just change Scotland forever.
In a packed courtroom, watched by most of Edinburgh and the cynical, young King James V, Katherine fights for survival, using her intelligence and quick wit. It’s the performance of her life. But as she struggles to claim innocence, the hidden love between her and a young woman, who never leaves her side throughout the ordeal, challenges her to decide what is truly worth living and dying for.
Capital Theatres’ The Studio, Edinburgh
Previews – 5, 6, 9 April
10 – 20 April 2024
Thu 11 April - Pre-show Heritage Talk: The Hidden Histories of James V: Katherine with Putting it Together podcast.
Tron Theatre, Glasgow
25 – 27 April 2024
Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
30 April – 1 May 2024
Mull Theatre, Tobermory
7 & 8 May 2024
Eden Court, Inverness
10 & 11 May 2024
Dunoon Burgh Hall
14 & 15 May 2024
Birnam Arts Centre
17 & 18 May 2024
Byre Theatre, St Andrews
21 & 22 May 2024
Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling
24 & 25 May 2024
Eastgate Theatre, Peebles
28 & 29 May 2024
Melrose Corn Exchange
31 May & 1 June 2024
“When I first imagined writing this series of Scottish history plays it seemed very unlikely I would have one produced in Scotland, let alone five, however I’ve always known the stories I want to tell with each play- so this moment, when ‘Katherine’ is going into production, is the realisation of a long held ambition. In continuing the cycle I want to surprise audiences with fresh narratives. This play was always intended to be very different in tone and style to the first four but will continue their larger story and, hopefully, my ambition to make invisible histories visible.”
“We are thrilled to be co-producing again with Capital Theatres and to be returning to Rona’s famous James cycle with this new play, hot on the heels of the success of James IV: Queen of the Fight, which toured across large-scale venues in Autumn 2022. We’re led by Rona’s writing, and our instinct with “Katherine” was to lean into the intimacy of the play and to perform in smaller scale venues that enhance and support this, while also producing epic, high quality story-telling, with director Orla O’Loughlin at the helm. We want to bring this tale of love and death, at a time of great change in Scotland’s history, to audiences across the country, from the Highlands to the Borders, engaging with people who have seen the previous James Plays, and those who have not.”
“We’re delighted to be co-producing the next instalment of the James Plays alongside Raw Material. With the combined talents of Rona and Orla James V: Katherine promises to be a deeply engaging experience that sheds light on the life of a little-known, yet hugely intriguing historical figure. As Scotland’s largest theatre charity, it is our goal to support independent producers like Raw Material, and to play our part in creating a resilient artistic environment in which their work can thrive. We’re delighted the rehearsals and the world premiere will take place in the intimate surroundings of The Studio, which will enhance the impact of this extraordinary story. We’re also really excited about the regional tour of James V: Katherine, giving audiences across Scotland the opportunity to enjoy what will undoubtably be a very special production.”
