The hell of the holidays, Plantagenet-style
If you've one of those warring families whose bad behaviors explode over the Christmas turkey meal, then rest assured that nightmare families are nothing new. Meet the Plantagenets. It's 1183, Yuletide is fast approaching and Henry II is feverishly worried about the release of his imprisoned wife (just for the holiday season, mind). Throw into the mix three brattish adult sons, all with their eyes on the throne, and there you have the recipe for an epically royal falling out around the feasting table! A comedy play that puts the hell into holiday!
James Goldman's viciously funny comedy of manners realizes the fraught experiences that countless families face over the holiday season and transfers it to medieval royal England, showing just that this theme of warring families over the Christmas dinner table is quite literally universal, whether a republican or a Royal!