The pomp and grandeur of 16th century English royalty captivates Broadway, bringing all the machinations and theatricality of tradition and demands. Inspired by the award-winning Hilary Mantel books, “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies,” the Royal Shakespeare Company produced this two-part, enthralling costume drama with a vast cast and provocative performances.
The court of Henry VIII has been presented in various forms and is familiar to most, but while Thomas More, Anne Boleyn and the Queens Mary and Elizabeth I are usually the focus points, Mantel here concentrates on the canny politics of Thomas Cromwell. He is played with subtle wily magnetism by Ben Miles. Over the course of almost six hours, Miles draws a character of subtle authority and charming control.
Cromwell was the son of a blacksmith, always reminded of his lowborn status even as he smoothly manipulates his way to becoming the monarch's closest confidant. Cromwell begins his court life with Cardinal Wolsey, and then moves to guide King Henry VIII (Nathanial Parker) through his marital problems and cleverly helps loosen the connection of the Church of England from Vatican control.
This fired-up plot is rich with upscale gossipy drama circling around King Henry's yearning for a son to continue the monarchy. His wife, Katherine of Aragon (Lucy Briers), has managed to deliver only a daughter, Princess Mary. With Henry's eye now focusing on the fetching siren, Anne Boleyn, he wants to be rid of Katherine, but the Catholic Church will not condone an annulment. Cromwell, who has manipulated his way into the court's inner circles, knows that his power lies in helping the King get he wants -- Anne and a son.
Director Jeremy Herrin manages to smoothly fit the goings-on of numerous engaging characters within the palace intrigue. With some cast members in double or triple roles, the movements glide on as Cromwell manipulates to nullify the King's marriage to Katherine. He tries to convince her to become a nun. “You may tell the King that I will become a nun...My one condition is that Henry must become a monk.” By the end of Part I, Katherine dies and Henry marries Anne. In Part Two, Anne gives Henry a child, a daughter, named Elizabeth. Still needing a son, Henry is now ready to get rid of Anne and move on to a young but cunnning Jane Seymour (Leah Brotherhead). Cromwell, now the King's chief fixer, turns to Machiavellian ends to make sure Henry gets what he wants. The truth of his actions is questionable but he does get rid of Anne Boleyn. There is a heightened immediacy and urgency to the characters in the stage version of Wolf Hall, Part I and II. Besides the nuanced quality of Ben Miles, Nathanial Parker as Henry VIII clarifies the monarch's self grandeur tinged with impatience and intractability. Lydia Leonard's Boleyn is enlivened with arrogance. She demands her own way and is unwilling to give an inch. Yet her outstanding moment is touching as she moves front stage, shivering with fear in the shadow of the Tower. Paul Jesson is a charmer as Cardinal Wolsey, a witty, knowledgeable prelate whose presence continues on even after his death. His ghost wanders through both plays keeping Cromwell in on behind-the-scenes court intrigues.
Christopher Oram's sets are spare and dark with a high cross at the back reminding one of the command the church holds in court affairs. Oram's costumes are sumptuous and detailed. Lighting by Paule Constable (in Part I) and by David Plater (in Part II) create mysterious shadows and vistas of ceremony, of a prison and even fires at appropriate moments.
Novelist Hilary Mantel suggests viewing “Wolf Hall” as a political thriller. Cromwell learned, "You don't get on by being original. You don't get on by being bright. You don't get on by being strong. You get on by being a subtle crook." See both parts of Wolf Hall, and you will be left wanting more.
