Masculinites, male identity and nationhood: the complex representation in Rona Munro's the James plays

A month before the Scottish electorate voted in the 2014 Independence Referendum, Rona Munro’s The James Plays made its debute. The trilogy is comprised of instalments dedicated to James I, II and III, exploring these Scottish kings’ reigns. At a time where Scotland was undergoing a divisive debate on the future of governance and perceptions of Scottish nationality, Munro’s narratives of medieval monarchs interrogate the nature of identity and nationhood. This research paper specifically focuses on how the depiction of the Jameses serves to critique the nature of masculinity, male identity and nationhood in contemporary Scotland. This is contextualised within the nation’s post-war theatre culture, considering Munro’s writing alongside other work that engages with Scottish identity, as well as examining her contribution to the representation of Scottish masculinity. The intersectional frameworks of masculinity studies, hegemonic masculinity theory, feminist theory and gender studies are applied as lenses to a textual analysis. By utilising this method and methodology, the subversive masculinities of the three Jameses is examined in relation to the hegemonic masculine ideals of the patriarchal structures they inhabit. In particular, how hegemonic masculinity defines leadership and power, how it influences the personal and private lifestyles of the Jameses, as well as how The James Plays challenge hegemonic masculine ideals. Through this targeted analysis, Munro’s representation of the complexity of masculinity, male identity and nationhood in contemporary Scotland is outlined, demonstrating how these attributes influence and conflict with one another.