DIGITAL PROGRAMME

RAW MATERIAL & CAPITAL THEATRES CO-PRODUCTION

JAMES V: KATHERINE

RUNNING TIME: approx 1hr 15 mins (no interval)

CAST

Constable / James V Sean Connor
Katherine Hamilton Catriona Faint
Patrick Hamilton / Spence Benjamin Osugo
Jenny Alyth Ross

CREATIVE TEAM

Writer Rona Munro
Director Orla O’Loughlin
Designer Becky Minto
Composer/Sound Designer Danny Krass
Lighting Designer Derek Anderson
Producer Margaret-Anne O’Donnell
Producer Gillian Garrity
Associate Director Eve Nicol
Movement Director/Intimacy Co-ordinator Janice Parker

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

RAW MATERIAL:
Co-Director/Executive Producer Margaret-Anne O’Donnell
Co-Director/Executive Producer Gillian Garrity

CAPITAL THEATRES:
Chief Executive Fiona Gibson

Executive Producer Rona Munro

Production Manager Ali Low
Company Stage Manager Naomi Stalker
Costume Supervisor Nicky McKean
Technical Cormac O’Callanain and the Technical Team
Associate Producer Jana Robert
Programming Munya Redman-Bayasi
Finance Crawford Hunt & Mark Jacques
Marketing Niall Walker, Charlotte Gross, Joanna Miller, Katie Daniel, Neil McLeod
Social Media Nicola Watson, Allan Ramsay, Jen Reeves
Press Manager Joseph Crerar-Blythe (Premier Scotland), Emma Goodacre
Creative Engagement Claire Swanson, Izzy Sivewright
Customer Service Linda Hogg and the Customer Service Team
Box Office Jimmy Beacham and the Box Office Team

Historical Consultant Dr Amy Blakeway
Historical Consultant Ashley Douglas

PLACEMENTS / MENTEES

Sound Mentee Fraser Mackie (Association for Sound Designers and Production)
Costume Department Shannon Blackwood (Liverpool Institute Performing Arts)

Supported by Chris Grace Hartness.
Funded by the Creative Scotland Touring Fund.

CAST BIOGRAPHIES:

Sean Connor

**Sean** is an actor based in Glasgow, Scotland. He graduated from New College Lanarkshire in 2017 with a BA Honours in Acting and has since appeared in numerous film and television projects, including *Schemers* (Black Factory Films, 2020), *Still Game* (BBC1, 2019), *Anna and the Apocalypse* (Vertigo Films, 2017). He is best known for playing series regular Dylan Christie in the hit BBC Scotland show *River City*. Since leaving River City he has appeared in multiple stage shows across Scotland and beyond. His theatre credits include *Moorcroft* (Tron Theatre in association with National Theatre of Scotland), *Ode to Joy: How Gordon Got To Go To The Nasty Pig Party* (Stories Untold Productions), *Don Quixote: Man of Clackmannanshire* (Dundee Rep & Perth Theatre), *Until it's Gone* (A Play, A Pie and A Pint and *Sean & Daro Flake It Til' They Make It* (Traverse Theatre).

Catriona Faint

**Catriona** trained at New College Lanarkshire (HNC) & Mountview (BA), graduating in 2020. Theatre includes: *Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning* (National Theatre of Scotland / Aberdeen Performing Arts Co-Production in association with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry), *Enough of Him* (National Theatre of Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre), *The Tempest* (Tron Theatre), *Black or White Coffee* (Union Theatre), *A Clockwork Orange, Emilia* (Mountview), *Tis pity she’s a Whore* (Sam Wanamaker Festival, Shakespeare’s Globe). Screen: *Christmas at Cunningham’s* (National Theatre of Scotland), *Volcano Horse Man* (BBC). Catriona was selected for The Scotsman’s ‘Ones to Watch’ 2024.

Benjamin Osugo

**Benjamin** is an actor from Aberdeen, Scotland. He is a recent graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s BA Acting program. His credits include: *Macbeth* (Royal Shakespeare Company), *Alföld* (A Play, A Pie and A Pint in association with Citizens Theatre & Traverse Theatre); *The Bookies, A Christmas Carol* (Dundee Rep in Association with Noisemaker), *Wings Around Dundee* (Dundee Rep); *The Five Thousand* (BBC Radio 4); *Detention Dialogues* (Ice & Fire); *Attempts on Her Life, The Seagull, Richard III* (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland); *Frantic Ignition* (Frantic Assembly).

Alyth Ross

Alyth is a Scottish actor who trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and The Dance School of Scotland at Knightswood. Her screen credits since recently graduating include: Last Light (Amazon/MGM), Dalgliesh (Channel 4), Dirty Angels (Feature Film), Bad Sisters (Apple TV) and Personal Best (BFI Network Short). Her radio/audio credits include: 4am Kyiv is Bombed (BBC Radio 4), and OCAS (Big Finish Productions). This is her professional stage debut.

CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES:

Rona Munro

WRITER

Rona Munro has written extensively for stage, radio, film and television. She orginally wrote the award winning trilogy The James Plays for the National Theatre of Scotland, The National Theatre of Great Britain and the Edinburgh International Festival. The fourth play in that series James IV: Queen of the Fight’ was commissioned by Raw Material and co-produced by Raw Material and Capital Theatres in 2022. This is the fifth play in that series and part of an ongoing collaboration with Raw Material. Mary, chronologically the sixth play in this historical series, was a production for Hampstead Theatre in London in 2022.

Other work including the recent adaptations of My Name Is Lucy Barton for the Bridge Theatre London and Manhattan Theatre Company on Broadway, New York and Captain Corelli's Mandolin for Neil Laidlaw Productions.

Other credits include award winning plays Iron for the Traverse Theatre and Royal Court London. The Maiden Stone for Hampstead Theatre, Little Eagles and The Indian Boy for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Bold Girls for 7:84 Theatre Scotland.

Film and TV work includes Oranges and Sunshine directed by Jim Loach and starring Emily Watson and Hugo Weaving, the Ken Loach film Ladybird, Ladybird which won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Festival, Aimée & Jaguar a Silver Bear winner and Golden Globe nomination, and BAFTA nominated Bumping the Odds for the BBC. She has also written many other single plays for TV and contributed to series such as Doctor Who.

Orla O’Loughlin

director

Orla was listed in the Observer as one of the top fifty Cultural Leaders in the UK and in The List Hot 100 of Women in the Arts.

She was Artistic Director of the Traverse Theatre, where directing credits included the award-winning productions: Mouthpiece (Traverse Theatre/Soho Theatre/ Melbourne and Auckland International Arts Festivals); What Girls are Made Of (Raw Material & Traverse Theatre Company: Traverse, Assembly, Tramway, Tron, Soho, Melbourne, Sao Paulo and Spoleto International Theatre Festivals); Swallow (Traverse); Ciara (Traverse, Tron); Spoiling (Traverse, Theatre Royal Stratford East); Meet Me at Dawn (Edinburgh International Festival) and Locker Room Talk (Abbey Theatre, Latitude Festival, BBC Radio, 4, Scottish Parliament, Traverse).

Other directing includes: Enough of Him (National Theatre of Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre); How Much is our Iron? (Young Vic); The Hound of the Baskervilles (West Yorkshire Playhouse/ UK Tour/West End); Kebab (Dublin International Theatre Festival/ Royal Court); For Once (Hampstead Theatre); The Fire Raisers (BAC); Black Comedy, Blithe Spirit, Relatively Speaking (Watermill Theatre); Small Talk: Big Picture (BBC World Service/Royal Court/ICA); Women Talking (Edinburgh International Book festival, Toronto Festival of Authors); A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity and Clean (Oran Mor and 59E59, New York).

Orla’s work has won a variety of awards including The James Menzies Kitchin Directors Award, Herald Angels, Fringe Firsts, Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland, The Stage Awards and Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards. Her recent production of The Time Machine: A Comedy, at the Park Theatre, was nominated for an Olivier Award.

Orla is a former Artistic Director of Pentabus Theatre, Associate Director of the Royal Court Theatre and Resident Assistant Director at the Donmar Warehouse where she was awarded the Carlton Bursary.

Orla is currently Vice Principal and Director of Drama at Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she was conferred the title Professor in 2020 in recognition of her ‘outstanding contribution to the advancement of her discipline’.

Becky Minto

DESIGNER

Becky has been designing for over 25 years, her work covers main house productions, large-scale touring, aerial and circus indoor and outdoor productions, multiple site-specific designs and large outdoor ceremonies, including the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Recent and future productions include: Taigh, Ty, Teach (Theatre Gu Leor/Fishamble/Theatr Bara Caws); Cypress Avenue (Tron Theatre); Small Town Boys (Shapercape)r; Love Beyond (Raw Material & Vanishing Point); Treasure Island (Scottish Theatre Producers;) The Event (Cumbernauld Theatre); Mother Goose (Perth Theatre). Out with theatre Becky has designed a large sculptural installation for the opening of the new Perth Museum, that will be the new home for the Stone of Destiny. She was awarded the silver medal for Space Design for The 306:Dawn (NTS) at the World Stage Design exhibition Taipei 2017. Her designs have been selected as part of the UK exhibition for The British Society of Theatre Designers at the Prague Quadrennial PQ19, PQ15, PQ11 and PQ07. She was recently nominated in the Best Costume and Best Set design categories in the UK Pantomime Awards for Jack and the Beanstalk at Perth 2022.

Danny Krass

Composer/Sound Designer

Danny Krass is a sound designer and composer working predominantly in Scottish theatre. He has composed and created sound designs for many of Scotland’s leading theatre companies including, amongst others, the Traverse Theatre, Tron, Perth Theatre, National Theatre of Scotland, Vox Motus, Catherine Wheels and Fire Exit. He is also becoming increasingly active in Radio and Podcasts, creating Earwig: Sonic Theatre Podcasts with Tron Theatre in 2021, and contributing to the Multi-award winning (Prix Europa & BBC Radio Drama Awards) The System for BBC Radio 4/Limelight. He is currently lead artist on The Loved One an immersive seven episode anthology series featuring an array of Scottish writing and acting talent.

Derek Anderson

Lighting Designer

Lighting Design credits include: Animal, Rags, My Dad's Gap Year, Hatched and Dispatched (Park Theatre); How To Kill A Mockingbird (Lyric Hammersmith); Macbeth (Garrick Theatre); BK Shivani (Wembley Arena); Sweeney Todd (Deutches Theatre Munich); Hound of the Baskervilles, Our Man in Havana, Our Friends The Enemy, If We Got Some More Cocaine, Ticker (UK Tour); The Secret Life of Humans, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Handbagged and Spamalot (English Theatre Frankfurt); Fatal Attraction (Theatre Royal Haymarket); What I Go To School For (Theatre Royal Brighton); Rumplestiltskin (Theatre Royal Bath then MAC Belfast); Sunset Boulevard (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre); Pure Imagination, Marry Me A Little, Andrew Lippa in Concert, Scenes From a Marriage (St James Theatre); Man Up, Ignition (Frantic Assembly); Henry V (Cambridge Arts Theatre); The Wedding Singer, How To Succeed in Business (Lowry Theatre); Dessert, Promises Promises, Allegro, The Grand Hotel, Uppercut, Followers (Southwark Playhouse) and the Whatsonstage Awards (Prince Of Wales Theatre).

Associate Lighting Design credits include: Shakespeare In Love, Henry V (Noel Coward Theatre); Silver Tassie, Great Britain (National Theatre) Le Corsaire (English National Ballet); The El Train (Hoxton Hall); Birdland (Royal Court); Skylight (Wyndhams Theatre then Golden Theatre, NY and Winner for Best Lighting Design at the 2015 Tony Awards) Die Zauberflote (Metropolitan Opera); Versailles (Donmar Warehouse); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and Winner for Best Lighting Design at the 2014 Olivier Awards).

Derek is also an Associate of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.

Eve Nicol

Associate Director

Eve Nicol is a Glaswegian theatre director and playwright sharing music-filled stories of love and heartbreak. Credits include critically acclaimed premieres I Can Go Anywhere (Traverse), The Drift (National Theatre of Scotland) and The Mistress Contract (Tron Theatre). As Associate Director; Islander (US tour), What Girls Are Made Of (Raw Material & Traverse) and THEM! (National Theatre of Scotland). Credits as a Writer include their "boundary-breaking" (The Stage) debut play One Life Stand (Middle Child), adapting Belle & Sebastian's iconic album If You're Feeling Sinister (Avalon & BBC Arts) and the award-winning Svengali (Pitlochry Festival Theatre & Pleasance).

Raw Material

CO-PRODUCERS

Margaret-Anne O’Donnell and Gillian Garrity founded Raw Material, an award-winning, Scottish based independent producing company in 2018. Their shared ambition to develop, create and tour bold accessible theatre that inspires, entertains and captivates audience across borders formed the foundations of the company. They are advocates for access and diversity within the sector and are passionate about enabling creative ambition, developing new models for success and supporting all stages of making theatre happen. Raw Material have produced and toured work of varying scale across Scotland, the UK and internationally, working collaboratively with a wide range of artists, companies and funders.

Productions include:

Love Beyond by Ramesh Meyyappan, Raw Material and Vanishing Point; James IV Queen of the Fight by Rona Munro, Raw Material and Capital Theatres in association with NTS; The Stamping Ground, lyrics by Runrig, book by Morna Young, Arrangements by John Kielty, Raw Material and Eden Court; In the Interests of Health and Safety Can Patrons Kindly Supervise Their Children at all Times by 21Common, Raw Material and 21Common; Unicorn Christmas Party by Sarah Rose Graber & Ruxy Cantir, Raw Material, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Eden Court Highlands, Capital Theatres; Unicorn Dance Party by Sarah Rose Graber and Ruxy Cantir, Raw Material; The Signalman by Peter Arnott, Raw Material and Perth Theatre; Glasgow Girls, Book By David Greig, Raw Material in association with Regular Music; We Are In Time by Stewart Laing, Raw Material, Untitled Projects and Scottish Ensemble; What Girls Are Made Of by Cora Bissett, Raw Material and Traverse Theatre Company in association with Regular Music; After the Cuts by Gary McNair, Raw Material in association with The Beacon Arts Centre; Off Kilter by Ramesh Meyyappan, Raw Material in association with Tron Theatre & Singapore International Foundation.

“Once again, we are thrilled to be working with Rona Munro to bring the next in her cycle of ‘James Plays’ to audiences - this time across the length and breadth of Scotland. From Eden Court in the Highlands to The Corn Exchange in the Borders, Mull Theatre on the West Coast to The Byre on the East Coast, and several cities, towns and villages in between, James V: Katherine will entertain and enthral audiences who are new to the James Plays, as well as previous fans!

While continuing to explore hidden histories, with epic themes addressing a pivotal point in Scotland history, Rona has written an intimate, tender and impassioned love story between two young women at a time in their lives when the stakes could not be higher for both them and for Scotland.
”

— Gillian Garrity & Margaret-Anne O'Donnell of Raw Material

Capital Theatres

CO-PRODUCERS

Capital Theatres presents world-class shows to entertain and inspire audiences of all ages. The three venues include two of Scotland’s largest, oldest, and most respected theatres: Festival Theatre (1,915 seats), King’s Theatre (1,122 seats, currently closed for a major redevelopment) and The Studio (155 seats). Together they host over 700 performances each year with a broad and inclusive programme featuring the very best in drama, dance, musical theatre, family shows, live music, comedy, and pantomime.

Capital Theatres is a receiving house which works with producers across the UK to programme their work. The organisation also commissions and co-produces a select number of productions of its own each year. Much of the programme is exclusive in Scotland, providing the only opportunity for audiences to see the biggest shows touring north of the border, the best in international contemporary dance and the latest productions from leading local and national companies. Capital Theatres is also the home of Edinburgh’s largest community companies, providing them with a platform each year to share their work.

As Scotland’s largest theatre charity, Capital Theatres supports access to the arts for everyone and has an extensive Creative Engagement programme of talks, workshops and events to introduce and develop participation and interest in the heritage of its buildings and all areas of live performance. Capital Theatres is also evolving an artist development programme, Open@TheStudio, and has won the UK Theatre 2023 Award for Excellence in Inclusivity for its work with people living with dementia.

“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.”

— Fiona Gibson, Chief Executive of Capital Theatres

TOUR DATES:

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, supported by Julie & Rae Baikie.

Tron Theatre, Glasgow
24 – 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

REHEARSALS:

Photography by Niall Walker.

THANKS:

Lyceum Theatre, Greig Dempster, Paul Claydon, Tom Mowat, James Gardener, Courtland Evje, Karin Anderson, Martha Steed, Brian James O’Sullivan, Cole Stewart, Garen Abel Unokan, Christina Gordon, Leah Byrne, Michael Ahomka Lindsay, Seamus McLean Ross, Gillian McLaren Scott, Kirsty McDuff, Nicola Roy, Laurie Sansom, Lorraine Tait, Richard Price, Iain Urquart, David McCallum, Gregor Black, Niall Black at Sonsie, Simon Cook, Matt Doolan.