Review: James V: Katherine – The Studio

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Rona Munro’s juggernaut theatrical series, the James Plays, reaches 1539, placing James V: Katherine in the hinterlands of the Scottish Reformation. James V (Sean Connor )now sits on the throne, one of the pettier monarchs, his reign marked by greed, public executions and improving Royal residences throughout the country.

However, the twenty-something monarch plays a supporting role in what feels like a 75-minute bonus episode in the series’ otherwise grand anthology. Instead, Katherine Hamilton (Catriona Faint), cousin to the Catholic monarch, and sometime heretic, takes centre stage.

Unusually educated for her era – she can & does read – she is of a far livelier mind, and erudition than her hyper-conservative, and taper-happy contemporaries in dog-collars.

For 19 years, she and these pillars of the established church have mucked along by paying each other little attention, until her reformist brother, Patrick (Benjamin Osugo) is publically burned for his beliefs. Made radical by his unexpected martyrdom, she swiftly comes to the church’s rather homicidal attention. An ecclesiastical trial in Edinburgh beckons, and a fateful encounter with the King. Will she burn too, or is there another path for her?

Faint is outstanding, an electric presence emanating a lively, self-aware cynicism. Clad in black leather she presents a modern heroine, spikey, emotive, afraid of death, but unable to betray her brother’s legacy, or her own intellect. Connor also continues to impress, injecting a sympathetic dimension into a character who might otherwise prove an unmemorable cardboard cutout, smart-but-damaged villain. Osugo’s turn will doubtless prove divisive, guided towards a cadence fit for a Scottish Eyeore as Patrick only quickened a soupçon once he trades heretic for curate prosecutor Spence. Completing the quartet, Alyth Ross’s fictional Jenny, Patrick’s widow, and Katherine’s childhood paramour, provides the play’s simple-souled, unfiltered heart.

Director Orla O’Loughlin coordinates a sleek production against Becky Minto’s simple, yet stylised set. There’s a weight to the four slate-grey panels which backdrop James V: Katherine, evoking a timeless courtroom in which to examine personal convictions. Munro’s text sounds Scottish, and if it lacks lyricism, it has a meaty muscularity fit for heavyweight productions. However though Faint is given ample opportunity to shine, there’s a peripheral feel to the subject matter and the play’s message of love trumping all.

Before this, however, the play grapples with the meat of the philosophical struggle between the establishment and its would-be reformers. Munro is keen to emphasise the possible virtues and flaws of each side, a clash of mutual intolerance overseen by an ethically challenged Monarch doing whatever he can to see off revolution. Elsewhere a healthy dose of well-judged comedy mostly dispensed by Faint’s sardonic, and irreverent aristocrat, helps to lighten proceedings and heighten the ever-present threat of disaster.

Greasing these dramatic wheels, Danny Krass’s instrumental backing adds a cinematic touch, often in concert with Derek Anderson’s striking lighting scheme. Indeed, there’s quality writ through the entirety of this co-production between Capital Theatres and Raw Material.

Ultimately, Munro’s guide to how not to be martyred for beliefs you don’t truly hold is a solid, rather than outstanding entry in the series. However, as an introduction to a potential star in the shape of Catriona Faint, it serves very well indeed.

James V: Katherine is a co-production of Raw Material & Capital Theatres.

Featured Image: Mihaela Bodlovic

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For tickets, and more information on James V: Katherine, click here.

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