Book Review: Campion, a play in two acts by Christopher Buckley and James MacGuire (1990)

Paperback cover of the play Campion, by Christopher Buckley and James MacGuire, 1990.

Poster advertising the world premiere of Campion at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, 1987.

When I hear the name Campion, my thoughts first go not to the English martyr and saint Edmund Campion, but rather to the fictional detective Albert Campion. I knew Albert Campion from the BBC TV series, broadcast in the U.S. on PBS as part of the series Mystery! My father was obsessed with any show airing on Mystery! I dutifully watched along, even though as a child I was alternately terrified and attracted to the fantastic Edward Gorey title sequence. But I always loved Vincent Price’s campy introductions to the shows. My father and I enjoyed the 1920’s and 1930’s setting of Campion, as well as his gorgeous Lagonda 16/80 convertible. 

There are no Lagonda 16/80’s to be found in Christopher Buckley and James MacGuire’s play Campion, about Edmund Campion, although some of the action takes place in 1580. Edmund Campion was an English Jesuit priest who did not meet with a happy ending, as is usually the case with martyrs. Campion’s story is a fascinating one, as he was at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, but rather than denounce the Pope, he left England in 1569. In 1580, Campion returned to England in secret, to minister to those Catholics still remaining in England.  

Campion paints a vivid picture of England during the 16th century, as it swung from Catholic to Protestant, back to Catholic for the five brief years of Queen Mary’s reign, and then back again to Protestant under Elizabeth. All of the main characters in the play are historical figures, and I will admit that my reading of the first act went slowly, as I kept Googling the main characters.  

Even though the ultimate outcome of the play is rarely in doubt, the play still retains tension as one wonders how exactly the events will play out. Campion demonstrates how people are caught up in events and forces much larger than themselves. Even Queen Elizabeth, powerful as she is, is to some degree at the mercy of the political pressure of her advisors. At the very end of the play, Elizabeth still believes that she can save Campion’s life. Of course, she is the Queen, and could commute his sentence, but Campion would remain a focal point for the anti-Catholic scheming and plotting of Elizabeth’s advisors.  

Campion is a man caught in the middle of historical and political forces beyond his control. Once the Vatican decides to send him back to England, his fate is sealed. Campion is trapped between the Catholic faction that wants to use him as a kind of advance guard for a possible Catholic/Spanish invasion of England, and Elizabeth’s advisors who want to use him as an excuse to further persecute English Catholics. Campion has no intention of acting against Elizabeth, or trying to incite a rebellion, but both sides want to use Campion as evidence that the possible Catholic/Spanish invasion threat is real.  

Campion brings to mind other works of art set during the turbulent Tudor/Elizabethan Era, including the play A Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt, and Gaetano Donizetti’s trilogy of operas Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Roberto Devereux. If you’re intrigued by England’s turbulent 16th century, Campion is a welcome addition to the canon of works set during the period.  

Campion was first performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, from June 23 to July 4, 1987. The play was billed as a “work-in-progress,” and Christopher Buckley recalls that time as “a golden summer.” Buckley and MacGuire were classmates at Portsmouth Abbey School, a Benedictine high school in Rhode Island. Interestingly enough, “the spark which first inspired this play was watching a rerun of Brideshead Revisited,” which in the U.S. was broadcast on PBS, just like the Campion TV series that I used to watch with my father. (p.12) Campion was published in book form in 1990 by Ignatius Press of San Francisco. The book includes a Preface, chronology, and a bibliography for those seeking to learn more about Campion and the English martyrs.