Wolf Hall: Parts 1 & 2 are adapted by Mike Poulton from Hilary Mantel's double Man Booker Prize winning novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies (published Henry Holt in the U.S.). The plays are based on the deceit, betrayal, and intrigue of the court of Henry VIII. The production features a company of more than twenty actors, headed by Ben Miles as Thomas Cromwell, Lydia Leonard as Anne Boleyn, and Nathaniel Parker as King Henry VIII, all under the direction of Olivier Award nominee Jeremy Herrin, who makes his New York City directing debut. The Royal Shakespeare Company is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association.
Part deep-dive into Tudor-era historical fiction and part endurance contest, 'Wolf Hall' has settled into the vast Winter Garden Theatre...Even if you walk in with ample historical context about Henry VIII's volatile court, the story demands intense focus to keep pace...Indeed, the focus of 'Wolf Hall' is on Cromwell...and how he comes to earn the king's trust as others around him are losing their jobs, or heads...In a complex portrayal, Miles paints Cromwell as a stable center of the universe, around whom orbits the wrathful king, his angry lovers and the opportunistic Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Paul Jesson). The major takeaway about Cromwell? He's so cunning that he manages to hold the trust of everyone, almost all the time, over an incredible stretch of years ... at least until he betrays them.
Already a hit in London, where it transferred to the West End after bowing to much acclaim at the RSC's home base in Stratford, the production is a mighty undertaking. It's directed by Jeremy Herrin with propulsive energy; designed with commanding stagecraft by Christopher Oram and a superb team on lighting, music and sound; and performed with authority and an abundance of sly humor by a first-rate troupe of 23. If the play's two parts ultimately prove uneven -- with the vigorous, bold-strokes storytelling of Part One giving way to uneven pacing and a nagging shortage of social and political context in Part Two -- that could have something to do with the giant spoiler that even the most distracted history student knows: Anne Boleyn loses her head. As admirable as the production is, it can't compare with the exhilarating vibrancy and theatrical originality of last season's British double-bill, Twelfth Night and Richard III. But while it might fall short of the pantheon of all-time great stage events, Wolf Hall is nonetheless an impressive feat, a compelling drama played out across the canvas of a nation soaked in rain and mud and blood.
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