(Image: Archive)
She has spent 15 years delving into the pages of history to bring the stories of Scottish monarchs to the stage.
Now playwright Rona Munro has revealed plans for a final instalment of The James Plays, focusing on James VI, the "tortured" Scottish king who was determined to bring Scotland and England together.
The new production will tell how the Stuart king, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, went on to rule England following the 17th-century "Union of the Crowns".
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James VI, which will go on tour around Scotland next year, will premiere at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, where the original trilogy in the series was first staged just weeks before the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
Former National Theatre artistic director Rufus Norris will direct Munro's new play, which is expected to "platform the vital women in James's life, explore the romance and tragic passion of his queer history, and uncover hidden narratives of identity and desire".
Playwright Rona Munro has revealed plans for James VI, a final instalment of The James Plays series. (Image: Greg Macvean)
The James Plays trilogy was launched as a co-production involving the National Theatre of Scotland, the National Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival.
Scottish theatre producers Raw Material, Capital Theatres, which runs the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, and Aberdeen Performing Arts are all involved in the new production, which will "invite audiences into the mind of a flawed, tortured king navigating shifting loyalties and religious turmoil to unite two crowns".
The new stage play James VI will be touring Scotland in September and October next year. (Image: Raw Material)
Munro said: "I started working on the original trilogy in 2012 and I did have a rough idea to write about all six Stewart kings and Mary, Queen of Scots, from the very beginning, although I didn't actually believe any of them would make it on to the stage.
"I was thinking about a cycle of big Scottish history plays, but I knew it would be a big commitment and a certain type of budget would be needed to make them happen.
Writer Rona Munro and director Rufus Norris are working on the new play James VI. (Image: Greg Macvean)
"People are not that interested in Scottish history outside Scotland, which makes Scottish history plays quite hard to sell.
"Even in Scotland, although people are interested in their history, we are not really taught it.
The new stage play James VI will be touring Scotland in September and October next year. (Image: Raw Material)
"When you do see Scottish history popping up in popular culture, Scottish people eat it up, but it has not generally been available."
Born in 1566, James VI was the product of Mary Stuart's ill-fated marriage to Lord Darnley.
He was crowned King of Scots when he was just one year old after his mother was forced to abdicate. He became James I of England in 1603 following the death of Queen Elizabeth I, his cousin, who did not marry or have any children.
The Union of the Crowns is widely regarded as leading for the Act of Union in 1707, which saw the English and Scottish parliaments dissolved and replaced with a new parliament of Great Britain based in Westminster.
Munro said: "My own perception is that a lot more is known about James in England than in Scotland. I think there will be a lot of surprises for people in the play.
"It is very much focused on the events around the day that he becomes King of England, and the emotional story of his life is compressed into those 24 hours.
"The question audiences will have to ask is whether he wanted to become King of England or felt it was his duty. We will never know, but I speculate about a few strong answers.
"He certainly pursued it very assiduously, against a lot of opposition from people down south, but he gradually became the least worst candidate as far as the nobility and political forces in England were concerned."
Munro suggested her new play would paint a sympathetic portrait of the troubled monarch.
She added: "He will be character who has to wrestle, as a very modern, well-educated, incredibly bright, incredibly sensitive and thoughtful man, with the whole philosophical concept of kingship and whether one human should be elevated over other human beings.
"We still wrestle with that idea of what justifies one person having enormous power over other humans. It is still a very relevant issue.
"The conclusions James comes to are very intelligent and very persuasive, but you can see the potential pitfalls. It comes back to the argument about whether you should even have kings or queens at all, and what it does to people who are kings and queens if we say we want them."
Norris said: "I have been a huge fan of this extraordinary series, which has, for me, redefined what a history play can feel like.
"Rona's ability to frame the historical events of many centuries ago in a way that makes them feel immediate, contemporary and utterly resonant is masterful, and to be a part of this seminal opus is a gift. It is particularly so, for me, on James VI.
"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.
"My own lifelong fascination with history has been naturally focused on England, and to breathe theatrical life into a story that touches both nations is a challenge I look forward to enormously.
"I have recently moved to Scotland, and to be a part of the theatre community here is a privilege I will relish."