Laurie Sansom
The James Plays – An Overview
★★★★☆ Event theatre
The confidence, skill and sheer brass neck demonstrated in The James Plays mean that any drawbacks in individual parts are submerged in the feeling that this is an Event with a capital E. Not just in theatrical terms – although goodness knows they qualify on that score – but possibly culturally and historically too.
James III: The True Mirror
★★★★☆ Humorously anachronistic
Cheerfully modern – and far more upbeat than its ostensibly tragic material would have suggested – James III: The True Mirror provides an energetic, occasionally puzzling conclusion to The James Plays.
James II: Day of the Innocents
★★★☆☆ Chilling
There’s a chilling tone to much of James II: Day of The Innocents. Quieter and more brooding than the plays which bookend it, it provides a necessary contrast, but is the least impressive of the three on its own terms.
James I: The Key Will Keep the Lock
★★★★☆ Historic
The high energy and dramatic power of James I: The Key Will Keep the Lock brings history into sharp focus and provides a fitting start to Rona Munro’s trilogy: the James Plays.
