You can imagine our delight when we arrived and the Upper Circle tickets I had booked got upgraded to Dress Circle ones free of charge!
The production was a joint collaboration by English Touring Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe and written by Howard Brenton.
Anne Boleyn
is one of those figures of English history that sparks a ton of different
opinions. Some people love her, as the passionate, ill-done-by mother of one of
our longest reigning Queens. Others judge her as a manipulative schemer.
I fall into
the first category. I am entranced by the story of this woman who apparently
resisted the advances of the King for up to 7 years, who suffered through the
birth of an unwanted daughter followed by three miscarriages, only to finally
be accused of witchcraft and incest leading to her death.
Synopsis.
The play surprised
me, as it does not focus on those milestones of marriage, coronation, birth of
Elizabeth I and Anne’s death, but concentrated more on her religious and
political aspirations.
It starts
with an introduction to King James I, who took over the reins of King of
England following the death of Elizabeth I. He seeks advice from the dead Anne
Boleyn with regards to combining the factions of the Church currently existing
in England to put an end to the religious unrest.
The play
then steps back in time and follows Anne through her meetings with the heretic,
William Tyndale, her alliance with Thomas Cromwell, and the breaking of this
alliance when she discovers he has been stealing money from the dissolved
monasteries.
We then
discover how quickly Cromwell put the case against Anne together, ultimately ending
in her death.
I’d never
seen this side of Anne Boleyn portrayed before and found it fascinating to
watch, and actually caught myself holding my breath at some points!
There were
also some excellent comical moments that I didn’t expect from a historical play
– James I dancing with his supposed lover, George Villiers, and Henry VIII
begging to be allowed, after 5 years, to move his hand past Anne’s knee!
However I
did feel that there was, particularly in the second act, too heavy an emphasis
on James I. Personally, as a fan of Anne Boleyn, I would have preferred to see
a little more of her, such as the secret wedding, her relationship with Henry,
her reaction to her miscarriages and her execution. This last was not shown at
all, which surprised me, as I had anticipated that as the final scene, and was
actually a little disappointed it wasn’t shown at all.
Jo Herbert, who played Anne Boleyn, didn't look how I expected an Anne Boleyn actress to look (although I guess I have been brainwashed by the BBC production with Natalie Dormer!), but I felt she captured the spirit of Anne brilliantly, and portrayed her as a gutsy woman who stood strong in her religious and ethical beliefs in what was essentially a man's world.
Overall, I
would recommend this play to people who are fans of Anne Boleyn and Tudor history;
I very much enjoyed the different take on her experience along with the laugh
out loud moments, and would be happy to see it again.
Take Care!
X
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