HENRY VIII. To 29 June.
London
HENRY VIII
by William Shakespeare, adapted by Phil Wilmott
Bridewell Theatre To 29 June 2002
Tue-Sun 7.30 Mat Sun 3.30pm
Runs 2hr 35min One interval
TICKETS 020 7936 3456
Review Timothy Ramsden 9 June
Clear and exciting: with all the pace of a power-driven drama, yet faithful to the play's complexities, this is nail-biting Shakespeare.On a rainy Sunday evening in June I sat in an audience of 23 watching one of the most riveting Shakespeare productions I've ever seen, a fine pendant to the RSC's late Shakespeare Roundhouse season.
Wilmott makes this a political thriller, with secrets passed by off-message courtiers to waiting journalists, and the powerful Cardinal Wolsey brought down when Anne Boleyn hands the king confidential e-mails hacked from the Cardinal's laptop.
None of this pacy modernity detracts from story or character. Repeatedly, Wilmott offers simultaneous images of power, contrasting those who – for the moment – wield it, and those to whom it's denied. Dark secrets are passed in the rain, while across the stage Wolsey sits grandly at his desk; later, as Anne begins her reign, he's seen clearing his desk – the trappings of authority are stacked in an old cardboard box.
Contrasting this grey-haired politician is the young Henry, a lithe athletic figure, impetuous and easily led. Just once, late on, as he suddenly sits up, straight-backed, do we catch a glimpse ahead of the portly power-figure he will become.
More typically, he's found in judo combat with young Anne; he's a brown belt, she a black, beating him every fall. Her royal husband still has to learn a few manoeuvres.
As for Anne, Wilmott scores an ace through Cara Sweeney's performance. First seen among a trio of party-going girls, talking in the Ladies' about power, she's the one who admits wanting to be queen. She's a cautious yet determined match for Wolsey – the two exchange a challenging glance as the crowds clear from the trial of Henry's first wife, Katherine.
Wheelchair-bound, Katherine fades away in front of us, while offstage Anne cries out in childbirth. The child may be destined to become Elizabeth I; what matters to Henry is, his baby's not a boy. We see him put away the necklace he was ready to give his second wife if she'd produced a male heir. It's just one of the unforced modern pointers to the heart of this Jacobean exploration of power corrupting, and distorting, human nature and society.
Cardinal Wolsey: James Horne
Lord Suffolk: Eugene Washington
Duke of Norfolk: Anthony Biggs
Jessica Brandon: Amy Rockson
Duke of Buckingham/Court Cleric/Earl of Surrey: Martin Fisher
King Henry VIII: Simon Merrells
Queen Katherine: Katerina Jugati
Voice of the Newsreader: Sir Trevor McDonald
Anne Boleyn: Cara Sweeney
Eleanor Lovell: Bea Holland
Lady Griffiths: Anna Ziman
Cardinal Campeius/Sir Anthony Denny: Simon Wright
Director: Phil Wilmott
Designer: Rosemary Flegg
Lighting: Hansjorg Schmidt
Sound: Adam Keeper
Judo adviser: Karen Lowe
Sponsor: TIF
2002-06-12 21:48:35