RSC Wolf Hall - Aldwych Theatre: Review by Christine Wilson

RSC Wolf Hall - Aldwych Theatre: Review by Christine Wilson 

Ben Miles as Thomas Cromwell

I had managed to get to London’s Aldwych Theatre from Belfast minus the two coveted tickets for Wolf Hall. Luckily I had taken a boastful photo to put on Facebook and duplicates were found for me - even better seats for 4 rows from the front. So I could see the whites of their eyes and not miss a thing. The theatre was full for this, a preview and none of us were disappointed.

The curtain pulled back to a gasp from the audience as we saw a tableau of Tudor characters captured in mid dance - straight from the 1530s, staring out at us in their ghostly dance and instantly drawing us in. This is exactly what Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall did. It draws us the reader back, back to the past so we inhabit the characters and see, smell and feel them. This simple opener instantly told us that Director Jeremy Herrin had understood that and was staying true to the book. This device was used four or five times in the 3 hour duration - the cast appearing on stage; moving together and staring out sightlessly at the audience as if woken from slumber for our entertainment.

Nathaniel Parker as Henry VIII

Could the handsome Ben Miles as Cromwell pull off this mighty role? He looks nothing like the character. But within seconds his manner and severe black costume- had convinced. He played the role in a slightly comic way - although wry humour more like The Thick of It than perhaps Blackadder. He spoke direct to the audience and stared around him constantly as if always on the look-out and never relaxed and his sharp wit quickly showed him a man who could rise to the top - as he did - after the fall of his beloved master Cardinal Wolsey (who continued to appear on stage at key points as a ghost.) Loss was a regular feature in the opening acts - as Cromwell also lost his wife and children but also his family life.

Lydia Leonard as Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII was played by TV’s Nathaniel Parker as a slightly dim but deadly, vain man - very much at the mercy (or merci perhaps?) of the charming and clever Anne Boleyn and the ambitious Cromwell who makes it possible for them to eventually wed. Anne’s brother, George, played by Oscar Pearce, got the biggest laugh of the night as he minced on wearing jewellery and waving a small hanky. It was a controversial interpretation of the character but we have to remember that this is Cromwell’s interpretation of events and how he saw people. And as a theatrical device to bring some small humour to a serious play it worked well and added enormously to the enjoyment. Anne Boleyn was ably handled by Lydia Leonard who perhaps brought nothing especially new to the role but stayed true to Hilary Mantel’s creation and played her witty and taunting ‘Cremuel‘ … She was nearly overshadowed by the quirkiness of the anything -but- humble Jane Seymour played by Leah Brotherhead with confidence. There were also some outstanding young actors in the ensemble, many taking their first stage roles.

The set and costume design deserve a special mention for their authenticity and the simple stage switched easily from being Wolsey’s Palace to a boat being rowed up the Thames and then Greenwich Palace in moments and a bit like the character of Thomas Cromwell himself showed how you can see the same thing in many different ways and guises. Step forward Christopher Oram who did both with brilliance.

Although an ensemble cast, some actors playing several roles, it is very much Ben Mile’s role. He is on stage the entire time and drives the play. He reacts to and initiates everything we see so these characters only exist because they are in his world. And his confidence, poise and rapport with the audience meant we could only emphasise with this very modern man.

On my way for a half time drink - and still feeling slightly spell bound by the production, I could hear some Americans drawling ‘It’s hard to know who all these people are really’. But it turned out that they thought they’d booked The Lion King.