James III: National Theatre Scotland

This week I had an extra special theatre experience at the National, watching the National Theatre of Scotland's James III - from the stage.

Jamie Sives (Game of Thrones) and Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing). 

King James III and Queen Margaret of Denmark.

Photo Credit: National Theatre.

Click here to see trailer.

Theatre in the round

James III is one of a trio of plays by Rona Munro charting the history of the first 3 James kings of Scotland. It was originally performed at Edinburgh International Festival in the round and they've copied this format for the performance in the Olivier Theatre. This meant I got to go back stage. It was so magical to see the engine rooms of the National Theatre, the backstage props and the perspective of performers looking out on an audience from the stage.

The play itself is a contemporary rendering of the history of James III of Scotland by Rona Munro. Both acts commence with a ceilidh band playing 'Born this way' and other modern classics which subtly allude to the plot. The characters wear modern dress with the odd nod to the fifteenth century (a la Robin Hood circa 2006).

Jester King

James' court is portrayed rather like that of King Henry VIII's in The Other Boleyn Girl, pretty poor girls, poor economic decisions and banishment of the privy council. I particularly enjoyed the moment where James III sacrifices the funds for a pilgrimage to Avignon to instead employ a choir to follow him round at all times to make life more 'beautiful'.

This play is all about the girls; the mistresses, the mothers and the formidable Danish queen, Margaret, who might be a bit past her best but has one hell of a head on her shoulders. Beyond the privy council, the nobles, Lord John and sibling rivalries the real power is held by the girls. There was a particularly strong performance from Sofie Gråbøl showing depth of character and progression.

Poignancy of timing

I watched this play one week after Scotland's referendum. There are plenty of references to the relationship between England and Scotland as James III constantly suffered the threat of English invasion and coercion. Munro illustrates the links between the historical political circumstance and that of today very well, so  little has changed in 500 years. A contemporary play, James III gave me an insight into how Shakespeare's history plays must have been received by the audience of the day; the parallels to their modern day circumstances must have been clear.


The show was a sensation, taught me loads of Scottish history and provided a unique backstage tour as part of the bargain. I'm really looking forward to seeing the first of the trio, James I, in a few weeks time.

King James is played by Game of Thrones star, Jamie Sives, and Margaret of Denmark by Sofie Gråbøl from The Killing. James III features full nudity and is not appropriate for those under 14 years old. The three James plays run daily in rotation, you can still get tickets for £15 until 29th October.

The big 100!

Today is a momentous day.

We discovered that Scotland as a whole wants to stay in the UK but with a substantial minority expressing discontent. The rhetoric is that everything will change, I've yet to be convinced...

This is also my 100th blog post.

Shankhill Road (Jan 2013)

It all began 3 and a bit years ago, during my MA when the interesting things I was discovering and thinking about wouldn't fit inside essays, so I wrote about them here. My first ever post here, was all about car gears and families. Perhaps I was an eccentric child.

Camino (June 2011)

Since then I'm on job number three, and living a mere 51.5 miles from where this story began. I've lived up to my adventurous moniker having visited 8 different countries and more than 14 cities across Europe - always returning to London with all that it has to offer.

St Paul's (Jan 2014)

I've mused on whether Santa is racist, if social media is bad for us, the masterful work of Luke Leighfield and Susan Abulhawa, and if we really need vision to experience the world around us.

Llanthony Castle (Sept 2012)

My most popular post to date is My Berlin Diaries II, with Offa's Dyke and a review of Skyfall coming in a close 2nd and 3rd illustrating that my travel diaries are your favourites.

Berlin (Sept 2013)

Predictably most of you are from the UK, but then the US and Russia follow next. Whilst I knew I had German readers I was surprised to find many page views from Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Latvia etc. So 'hi' if you are from those places, I hope you enjoy what you find here.

It turns out that 2014 has been a prolific year for me, completing a third of the content for this blog. I really am surprised by that fact. At least perhaps it has kept me in the habit of writing if nothing else!

I've no plans to stop just yet, the adventure is only just beginning!

Yours,

Adventurous Wilkinson

Venice, August 2014

Edinburgh 2: East Lothian

As we were camped outside Edinburgh near Wallyford (classic name I know) and with four wheels we were really at liberty to explore the wider area around Edinburgh. Here are some things we enjoyed...as ever props to photographer friend for photos.

Goblin Ha!
Some of the castles in East Lothian are jolly expensive...case in point Edinburgh Castle. So I did some research into places that were free and stumbled across this beauty. The sat-nav refused to take us there, the bemused Scots we encountered questioned our intentions and told us it was 'bloody spooky', we thought it was wonderful. Goblin Ha! is the remains of Yester Castle, the home of Sir Hugo de Gifford aka 'The Wizard of Yester' who is said to have built his castle with the assistance of some hobgoblins. To get to the castle we parked on the road beyond Castle Park Golf Course, walked through a private farm, through a field of grass with accompanying dovecote which we pondered, through a second gate, through a wood and then we arrived. Photos of the journey below. 2 things of note here: 1. turns out you can just park at the golf club, its probably an easier walk, 2. turns out you can get into the creepy subterranean hall, for more info see this video. Turns out Goblin Ha! is also the inspiration for several stanzas of Sir Walter Scott's Marmion.

Yellowcraig Sands
Now I have to admit to a) being tipped off about this dear little cove that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Treasure Island, b) getting a tad hyperbolic because the beach was beautiful. We got to eventide and I decided that a half hour drive to watch the sunset at Yellowcraig was the perfect way to end a long day. We were not disappointed. When we parked the car it seemed everyone was walking in the opposite direction, but we walked the 5 mins across some bluffs to this exquisite setting and forgave the fairly intrusive but ultimately temporary engagement shoot, our only company for the first half an hour or so. For me there is something so calming about standing with my toes in sea water, with no noise but birdsong, and the only jellyfish beached (see below!) moments like this reset my anxiety counter and are really treasured.

Tantallon and Dunbar
We were ultimately headed south but en route I persuaded my kind friend to try one last historical haunt and a seaside town for fish and chips with mixed success.

Tantallon Castle offered buckets of atmosphere, house martins for photos and generations of earls called Archibald Douglas (great name). I really enjoyed  playing the tour guide, reading aloud bits of the guide book and generally larking about the ruin - we got a good hour and a half out of Tantallon - some amazing photos - and all for just £5.50 each.

Dunbar on the other hand was less successful. I know this may come as a surprise but I don't always guess places right. Dunbar was on our route home and seemed like the perfect place to stop for fish and chips, but to be honest, there was one bar open prepared to feed us fish and chips, and they took ages. When our food came it was proper 'eat the view', fished from the surrounding waters but I was an 9.75 on my hungry scale (eat your hand is 10!) by the time it arrived. Dunbar like Musselburgh was a decidedly average, suburban town. There are gems to be found on the East Lothian coast, Gullane looked nice from the car window, but Dunbar is not it.

Anyway, by the time you read this I'll be away again (I know, lucky girl) I'm off to Germany and beyond. Looking forward to updating you on all the best places to find beer and happiness on the Continent. Cheerio!