THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT Enters Final Weeks of Performances

The Mirror and the Light, currently running at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End, has entered its final four weeks with its last performance on Sunday 28th November 2021. The co-production between Playful Productions and the Royal Shakespeare Company has been a flagship theatrical event for the reopening of London's West End, delighting audiences since it opened earlier this year.

The third and final novel in the Wolf Hall trilogy has been adapted for the West End stage by Dame Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles. Jeremy Herrin, who was nominated for an Olivier Award, a Tony Award and won the Evening Standard Award for the first two productions, directs. Nathaniel Parker resumes his Olivier Award winning portrayal of Henry VIII.

An industry-leading project that was developed while navigating the lockdowns, the play brings to life the concluding chapter of Mantel's multi award-winning novels about the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, all commissioned and developed for the stage by Playful Productions. The acclaimed Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies were hailed as landmark and must-see theatrical events and sold out their London runs in 2014 after premiering at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Mantel recently received the prestigious Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for The Mirror and the Light, which she also won for Wolf Hall in 2010. Wolf Hall won the Man Booker Prize in 2009, and Bring Up the Bodies won in 2012, making Mantel the first woman ever to have received the award twice. Bring Up the Bodies also won the Costa Novel Award, the first time the same novel has won both this and the Man Booker.

England, 1536. Anne Boleyn's fate has been sealed by the executioner. Jane Seymour must deliver King Henry a healthy heir. And to the disgust of Henry's nobles, Thomas Cromwell continues his ruthless ascent from the gutters of Putney to the highest rank beside his master. But Cromwell is vulnerable and his enemies are poised to strike.

The further you climb, the harder you fall.

The full cast includes: Ben Miles (Cromwell), Nathaniel Parker (Henry VIII), Nicholas Boulton (Duke of Suffolk), Matt Pidgeon (Stephen Gardiner) and Giles Taylor (Archbishop Cranmer) and new to the trilogy: Rosanna Adams (Anna of Cleves), Paul Adeyefa (Christophe), Melissa Allan (Princess Mary), Samuel Awoyo (Ensemble), Aurora Dawson-Hunte (Elizabeth Seymour), Ian Drysdale (French Ambassador), Mark Extance (Ensemble) Jo Herbert (Lady Rochford), Andrew Hodges (Ensemble), Niamh James (Ensemble), Terique Jarrett (Gregory Cromwell), Jordan Kouamé (Rafe Sadler), Geoffrey Lumb (Thomas Wriothesley), Olivia Marcus (Jane Seymour), Umi Myers (Helen Sadler / Dorothea Wolsey), Liam Smith (Walter Cromwell), Tony Turner (Kingston), Leo Wan (Richard Riche) and Nicholas Woodeson (Duke of Norfolk).

The production features scenic and costume design by Christopher Oram who won both Olivier and Tony Awards for his work on Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun, music by Stephen Warbeck, with sound design by Nick Powell, movement direction by EJ Boyle and casting by Helena Palmer CDG.

For more information visit: https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-mirror-and-the-light