Well, we're back to one of my favourite subjects - royalty. And mediaeval, at that. The James Plays, about Kings James I, II, & III of Scotland, showing at the Olivier Theatre - the largest - in the National, have been getting a good deal of publicity lately. Unfortunately, that means tickets are getting very hard to come by.
Yesterday, I tried to get a ticket for James I, but it was completely sold out for the entire run. I did manage, however, to get one of six tickets left for tonight's performance of James II. So I took the most central one. Today I looked.. and found tickets available for James I. The only available date I could manage though - they alternate the plays on different days - is the 27th October. So I booked that. As for James III - I don't know, it's highly variable. I checked yesterday and today, and no tickets were available. I checked just now, and there are tickets for Thursday. Either they're holding tickets back and dripfeeding them, or there are frequent returns. I dunno.. I'm supposed to be going to a feminist festival that night, but if this is my only chance to see James III, I know where I'd rather be. We'll see.
Well, the National is one of those venues I'm always rushing to. This evening, the District Line was doing its usual slo-mo. At least, when I finally got to Embankment, the river exit - closed for building work - was now open, so I didn't have to do a circuit to the other side of the bridge. By the time I made it to the theatre, the main box office had sent the tickets upstairs, to the kiosk beside the Olivier. So I waited, with a whole crowd of others, for either of a pair of lifts that looked as though they were taking a page from the District Line's book! At least I was in the (terminally slow-moving) queue for ticket collection by the time the bell went. Then had to make my way upstairs again to the Circle. And I was right in the middle of the section, so it didn't matter which way I went in, I was going to disturb just as many people. All seats were now sold, of course.
The stage is ominously decorated with a giant sword, stuck in the corner of it. Just to set the mood, you understand. Adding to the mood is a bass hum, that drones through the performance and even the interval - just loud enough to be unnerving. But then, so is the subject matter. I saved myself the price of a programme by researching the Wikipedia article (linked to above) about James II today. Count yourself lucky not to have been a royal in this country at this time - it was a bloody business.
The stage is grey and stark. Well, they didn't have much furniture back then anyway - it was expensive, and they just did without. Most of the accents are Scottish, barring those of the queens - as with royal spouses anywhere, they were foreign: James' mother was English, his wife from Guelders (which, by the way, is Dutch/German these days, not French, as her accent would imply). Some people in the audience had headphones, including a couple of ladies beside me, and I do wonder whether it was an accent thing.. ;-)
This king took his throne at the age of six, following his father's assassination. His own life was immediately in danger, of course, and he ended up being passed from one powerful family to another until his majority. This play, naturally, deals with the dark effect all of this might have had on his personality. We see his childhood in flashbacks, in which he is portrayed as a puppet. Literally and figuratively.
It's good. My only reservation about it is the last scene, which, although undeniably important, is dragged out quite a bit, and could have done with some trimming. Otherwise, a thought-provoking and brooding piece.
Tomorrow, Pitcairn at the Globe. I got a nice cheap seat for this, using the code PCDWRITE - any seat I wanted for £10. And I must remember to have a camera, for the floodlit view when I exit. And on Thursday, as of now, I'm booked for Women's Hour and A Girl and a Gun, part of the Calm Down, Dear feminist festival. And off to Ireland, and a simpler life, for the weekend..
PS Sod it, I just checked and since the last time I looked, four of the available seats for James III for Thursday were gone. I've booked one. At least they're all cheap Travelex £15 tickets. Ehh.. anyone want a ticket to a couple of shows in Camden People's Theatre on Thursday..?
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