MAN FOR ALL SEASONS till 21 October

Pitlochry

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
by Robert Bolt

Pitlochry Festival Theatre In rep to 21 October 2005
Mon-Sat 8pm Mat Wed & Sat 2pm
Runs 2hr 50min One interval

TICKERTS: 01796 484626
Review: Timothy Ramsden 20 August

A fine production showing Pitlochry’s strong company and staging possibilities to advantage.
This play’s title role, referring to 16th century statesman Thomas More, became fixed at its 1960 premiere by the grave, dignified portrayal (subsequently, too, on film) by Paul Scofield. In Pitlochry, Dougal Lee offers a more sprightly, youthful figure. Lee, and director Richard Baron, treat the opening scenes with deliberate lightness. This fast-track statesman’s Chelsea house is open to the glistening Thames of Edward Lipscomb’s set. The king pops in on a boat-trip. More is in charge of a largely happy household.

It’s a lot to give up, but as the shadows of political events darken, More is offered a choice between internal and external content: is he the King’s man or his own? It’s here Lee’s portrayal deepens without losing its light surface, effortful though that becomes in attempts not to sadden his wife and daughter. Henry VIII wants to get out of his marriage with first wife Katherine of Aragon. Historically, he had his eye on attractive Anne Boleyn, but he also needs the male heir his wife seems unable to give. Without that, it’s back to succession quarrels and the miseries of the previous century’s Wars of the Roses.

It’s here More showed his mettle historically, refusing to betray his Catholicism, nor accommodate it (in the manner of hack politicians always) to the King’s demands. Bolt reinvents this in an existential framework: it’s less the beliefs themselves than the fact they are More’s beliefs, part of himself. When he explains that what matters is that “I believe them”, the emphasis is on the “I”.

The production’s previous light manner pays off here: this is a man for all seasons, not a natural martyr. He’s contrasted, outside the main action, by Dennis Conlon’s Common Man, who pops up out of a laundry basket and has a series of low-key chats with us. He assumes we’re on his side, as we probably are. More may be admirable to watch, and Bolt shows that those who follow the King don’t come off so well. But in the end how many people stick to their principles rather than saving their necks?

Common Man: Dennis Conlon
Sir Thomas More: Dougal Lee
Richard Rich: Dominic Brewer
Duke of Norfolk: Jonathan Coote
Lady Alice More: Karen Davies
Lady Margaret More: Kezia Burrows
Cardinal Wolsey: Richard Addison
Thomas Cromwell: Robin Harvey Edwards
Signor Chapuys: Martyn James
Chapuys’ Assistant: Joel Trill
William Roper: Stewart Cairns
King Henry VIII/Thomas Cranmer: Hywel Morgan
Catherine Anger: Lynette Clarke

Director: Richard Baron
Designer/Costume: Edward Lipscomb
Lighting: Jeanine Davies

2005-10-17 09:45:00