Black Friday 1745 - New Play

Interview with Matthew C. Widdowson of Jacobite Productions 

It was a pleasure indeed to hear the live streaming on 'Soundcloud' of Matthew Widdowson's new play 'Black Friday 1745' :  On 6th December 1745, at Exeter House, Derby, the Jacobite rebels held a Council of War which was to have major consequences to the history of Britain and beyond. Bonnie Prince Charlie had landed in Scotland to claim the throne in the name of his father James. His army,  with a high proportion of  Highlanders amongst the 6,000 or so soldiers, had been  extremely successful.

The rebels had  even reached Derby, and were deciding whether or not to head for Northampton, then London, to take the throne. Two Hanoverian armies were trying to catch up with them, of around 10,000 men each. New recruits to the Jacobites were in short supply, reflecting English and Welsh indifference ( in fact only three men joined at Derby). They could head south and aim for London, but risk being cut off by their enemies. Alternatively, they could head back to Scotland and consolidate their forces. The rebels are bitterly divided, but then are swayed by false intelligence that suggested that Northampton is teeming with Hanoverian forces, and a retreat is agreed.

The play is well acted, and the faultlines within the supreme ranks of the Jacobites become more and more apparent. The success of the false intelligence arguably succeeds because it justified the movement's doubts and declining confidence.

Interview with Matthew C Widdowson, writer of 'Black Friday 1745' 

1. It has to be asked -what happened to the English and Welsh Jacobites during the '45? They seemed to have been 'under-represented'.


Answer: The parliament of that time was made up entirely of two opposing parties, the Whigs and the Tories. The Whig government, who had ultimate cost the Stuarts the throne, naturally supported the Hanoverian royal line, whereas the Tories were predominately Jacobites, or at the very least in favour of Stuart restoration.
There was a lot of support for the Stuart claim from England, Wales and Cornwall in 1745 but unlike Scotland, ( or at least the Highlands), the support in England was mainly political, as opposed to military. While the substantial military support that was expected from Wales, had already been put down by the Whig government. It was also considerably easier to raise an army in Scotland as the highlands lived by Clan laws and were effectively, ready made battalions who just needed uniting.

2) And how did the play come about -why the Council of War in Derby as a subject ?

Answer : The Jacobite War Council in Derby is arguably the most important meeting in pre-modern day history. But it's a subject that has barely been used in drama. I've always wanted to make a "Jacobite Chronicles" and thought that this would be a great point to start. Also, it's a great challenge for a writer to make something dramatic and exciting with a dialogue alone, in a single scene.


3) There are songs, poems, novels, films, TV programmes, all dedicated to the Jacobite cause. Which have inspired you ?


Answer: I'd say that the Jacobite music by The Corries were my initial inspiration, once I became interested in the era and the Stuart cause. My wife bought me a CD for Christmas, Songs of the '15 and '45 which is just remarkable. I've read several books, but the Bonnie Prince Charlies biography by Carolly Erickson if by far the best Charles Edward Stuart book.

4) Do you think that Bonnie Prince Charlie could have ever won if he had ventured south towards London? Both the Duke of Cumberland and General Wade had larger armies on the loose .

Answer: In a word, yes! Definitely. The Jacobite Army's size was it's advantage. The Speed of the advance had been the route of the success up until December 1745. Although the Government armies closing in were larger than the Jacobite army, they were slow and relatively untested. The French were also ready to dispatch a larger army from Nantes around the same time that would have met the Jacobite Army and surrounded London. London was almost undefended and would have fallen to the Jacobites. George II would have had to flee the leaving the throne empty for the Prince.


5) Could Charles ever ruled successfully? I read a biography of Queen Anne recently ,and the whole political and financial administration had become so complex by the end of 17th century. Queen Anne managed well, but hard to imagine Charles without any knowledge of Britain, or of administration, coping.


Answer: The 3 main policies of the Stuart/Jacobite manifesto in 1745 were

• Religious Tolerance
• Dissolving the Union
• Parliament to govern unmolested. 

King James had secretly informed King Louis (France) in 1745 that he would not waive his succession to the throne if the '45 rebellion was a success, and Charles would therefore have been crowned in place of his father.

It is safe to assume that James was aware of Charles being an adventurer rather than an administrator and his manifesto was designed to ensure the safety of the Kingdom under his son as King.

Based on how Prince Charlie lead his life post rebellion, it is easy to assume that he would have been a catastrophic ruler, but until failure of the rebellion he, at the very least, appeared to be fit for purpose.


6) The play did well in Derby- what has the response been from The Highlands?

Answer: So far we have only had good feedback from audiences all over the UK. I'd really like to think that Highland audiences will be even more approving of the play. Although his is genuine, British history, the Scottish Highlands and Highlanders have a very special relationship with The Stuart heritage. 

7) Are there going to be anymore plays with a Jacobite theme ? My personal interest leans more towards 'first wave' Jacobites , such as James II /VII in exile.

Answer . The plan at this stage is to make a total of 9 stories in the Star Wars style. Starting with a trilogy that begins with Black Friday 1745. Then making 3 prequals which will start with the Story of The Glorious Revolution followed by the story of 'Bonnie Dundee' and concluding with the James Francis Stuart's story. 

The final trilogy will start the Elibank Plot, followed by Bonnie Prince Charlies Story in exile and concluding with his later years and return to Rome. 

Certainly, the earlier Jacobite stories and protagonists are equally as interesting, exciting and worthy of notoriety as The Bonnie Prince. I visited the National Museum for Scotland in Edinburgh last year for the amazing Jacobite Exhibition and was equally inspired by all 5 Jacobite challenges to the throne. 

Thank you Matthew for agreeing to an interview and wishing 'Jacobite Productions' success with the play and future ventures.

Links

Jacobite Productions  website, also have their own Facebook page, Twitter account etc.

Black Friday       Hear the play on 'Soundcloud' ( CD version available from the website above)

As Matthew mentioned , there is a wealth of songs about the Jacobite cause.  A personal favourite of mine is  Ossian ' version of   It Was All For Our Rightful King  from the 1986 album 'Light Shining On A Distant Shore' .  Gradually transforms into a lovely song - ' The Sun Rises Bright in France'- , about a Jacobite soldier in exile, thinking about his home country.