One of Scottish theatre’s most ambitious projects is to reach its conclusion with a new play telling the story of James VI of Scotland.
Playwright Rona Munro will complete The James Plays with James VI: First and Last, bringing to an end a theatrical journey through Scotland’s Stewart monarchs which began more than a decade ago.
The major new production will premiere at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre on 24 September 2027 before touring to Glasgow, Stirling, Inverness and Aberdeen.
It will be directed by Rufus Norris, the former artistic director of the National Theatre in London, in his first directing project in Scotland.
James VI: First and Last will explore one of the most consequential monarchs in Scottish history as he navigates religious turmoil, political rivalries and shifting loyalties before eventually uniting the crowns of Scotland and England.
James became King of Scots as an infant following the forced abdication of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1567.
Following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, he also became James I of England, bringing the Scottish and English crowns together under a single monarch.
Munro’s new play will explore the king as a complicated and flawed figure rather than simply presenting the political events of his reign.
The women in James’s life will also play a significant role, while the production will explore his relationships, sexuality, identity and desire.
Munro said: “James VI: First and Last marks the end of a journey I began over ten years ago.”
Looking back at the scale of the project, she admitted committing such a significant part of her career to the series “could have been a very odd and foolhardy decision”.
She added: “I hope you’ll be gripped by a vital and exciting story about a tortured king, a divided nation, and much more that made our Scotland, today.”
The James Plays began at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2014 with James I: The Key Will Keep the Lock, James II: Day of the Innocents and James III: The True Mirror.
The original trilogy subsequently transferred to the National Theatre in London and helped establish Munro’s project as one of the landmark Scottish theatre productions of recent years.
The story continued with James IV: Queen of the Fight in 2022 and James V: Katherine in 2024.
James VI: First and Last will now become the sixth and final instalment of The James Plays.
Munro has also written Mary, a related play about Mary, Queen of Scots, which was staged at London’s Hampstead Theatre in 2022 but has yet to receive a professional production in Scotland.
Munro has said there have been “near misses” in attempts to stage Mary north of the border and she still hopes the play will eventually be produced in Scotland.
James VI will also mark a new chapter for director Rufus Norris.
Norris stepped down as artistic director of the National Theatre in 2025 after a decade in charge and has since moved to Scotland.
He said Munro’s series had “redefined what a history play can feel like”, praising her ability to make events from centuries ago appear contemporary and relevant.
Norris said: “The play is rich on many levels, bringing a psychological and dramatic insight into this complex, flawed leader in a way that feels deeply pertinent to the age we are living through.”
He added that having recently moved to Scotland, becoming part of the country’s theatre community was “a privilege I will relish”.
The production is being staged by Raw Material and Capital Theatres in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts, with support from the Creative Scotland Touring Fund.
After its world premiere at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre, where it runs from 24 September until 2 October 2027, James VI: First and Last will move to the King’s Theatre in Glasgow from 5–9 October.
It will then visit the Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling from 14–16 October and Eden Court in Inverness from 21–23 October.
The Scottish tour concludes at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen from 27–30 October 2027.