As James Goldman?s epic play, “The Lion in Winter,” draws to a close, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Sherrionne Brown) laments to her husband, Henry II (Phil Gallagher), “We?re jungle creatures, Henry, and the dark is all around us. See them in the corners? You can see the eyes.”

Eleanor might have been speaking of the audience, quietly watching as a talented group of seven actors transformed the stage at Spotlighters theater into Chinon Castle at Yuletide in 12th-century England.