''Jamie the Saxt'' is a four act play in Scots by the Scottish dramatist,

Robert McLellan Robert McLellan OBE (1907–1985) was a Scottish renaissance dramatist, writer and poet and a leading figure in the twentieth century movement to recover Scotland’s distinctive theatrical traditions. He found popular success with plays and ...

, first produced by

Curtain Theatre The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Hewett Street, Shoreditch (within the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1624. The Curtain was ...

in Glasgow in 1937 with the actor Duncan Macrae in the title role. The historical subject of the comedy is the conflict between the king of Scots,

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, and Francis Stewart, the rebellious 5th Earl of Bothwell, in the early 1590s.

Plot

The action of ''Jamie the Saxt'', although a comedy, nevertheless follows attested events closely. McLellan sets each of the four acts at crucial dates in the historical record of the conflict between Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, and the King of Scots beginning on the afternoon of the murder of

James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray James Stewart (later Stuart), 2nd Lord Doune, 2nd Earl of Moray (c. 1565 – 7 February 1592) was a Scotland, Scottish nobleman, the son of James Stewart, 1st Lord Doune and Margaret Campbell. He was murdered by George Gordon, 1st Marquess o ...

, 7 February 1591/2.

Production history

The first performance of ''Jamie the Saxt'' was at the Lyric Theatre, Glasgow, on 31 March 1937."Robert McLellan: Playing Scotland's Story, Collected Dramatic Works", Luath Press, 2013, edited by Colin Donati, p.59 Scottish plays 1937 plays 1937 in Scotland Scots-language works Plays set in the 16th century Plays set in Scotland Plays based on real people Scottish comedy Comedy plays Cultural depictions of James VI and I {{1930s-play-stub