HENRY VIII till 2 September
Henry VIII: William Shakespeare
AandBC Theatre, Part of the RSC Complete Works Festival
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford upon Avon
Runs: 3 hrs, one interval, till Sat 2 August
Review: Rod Dungate, 24 August 2006
Take it moment by moment
Henry VIII, one of Shakespeare’s last plays, is irritatingly illusive. It isn’t, for instance, a neat, satisfying whole of a play, like the great Tempest; it’s untidy and has wild and unpredictable swings. The play examines the role of Henry at the time of his separation from Katherine and his marriage to Anne Bullen; it’s presented as a play about the split from Rome and Catholicism, yet appears more as an in-depth pageant of English history of the time, culminating in the birth of Elizabeth.
I think, more than anything, when we watch the play we are conscious of the play’s sense of history – and not only in the allusions to Elizabeth and James at the end. Cardinal Wolsey, talking to Cromwell, as he falls from favour says: ‘. . . thus far hear me, Cromwell,/ And when I am forgotten, as I shall be,/ And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention / Of me more must be heard of . . . ‘ What more apt summing up of history could there be – albeit a cynical one.
Take the play moment by moment and the tight traverse production in Holy Trinity Church offers many such insights – political, emotional, philosophical, historical. And we in the audience are at one time jury, at another, friends and confessors, and yet another, rabble on-lookers.
Antony Byrne’s Henry is strong because neither hero nor villain – he’s intensely human with human frailties. Anthony O’Donnell’s Wolsey is intriguingly under-played – no villain, but a man getting on with a complex (and dangerous) job. In O’Donnell’s performance you sense Wolsey’s power rather than see it manifest. A marvelous performance from Corinne Jaber as Katherine of Aragon – she draws us into the emotional heart of the play. Some clever ‘doubling’ gives Jabel’s final scene a clever, and welcome, twist.
Gregory Thompson’s production unearths welcome depth in the play. The opening few scenes need to settle in a little, but once the sense of debate rather than show takes hold, we have an intriguing evening. A valuable and informative part of the Complete Works Festival.
King Henry VIII: Antony Byrne
Katherine of Aragon: Corinne Jaber
Anne Bullen: Aoife McMahon
Cardinal Wolsey: Anthony O’Donnell
Cardinal Campeius: Clive Mendus
Cranmer: Jem Wall
Duke of Buckingham: Derek Hutchinson
Duke of Norfolk: David Annen
Duke of Suffolk: Ed Woodall
Duke of Surrey: Jimmy Akingbola
Lord Chamberlain: James Pearse
Lovell: David Weston
Cromwell: Peter Luke Kenny
Old Lady: Cara Kelly
Patience: Amy Finegan
Directed by: Gregory Thompson
Designed by: Ellen Cairns
Lighting Designed by: Judith Greenwood
Music Composed by: David Stoll
Movement Director: Jem Wall
Assistant Director: Clare Lizzimore
Music Director: Amy Finegan
Costume Supervisor: Ella Kidd
2006-08-26 11:38:03