The RSC's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies
Has anyone else seen “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up The Bodies” at the Aldwych theatre in London? Just *guh*, I’ve not been so spellbound by a production (or rather 2 productions) for ages! Really enjoyed them. And how the Hell Ben Miles manages to literally never leave stage for 2 whole plays and remember all his lines and blocking and stuff - like, wow! That is skill.
Ben Miles as Cromwell with the executioner's sword in Bring Up The Bodies. All photos c/o RSC.org.uk
(He has a kind of Jeremy Irons look about him, I think... is that just me?)
The Cromwell of Mantel's novels is such a bloody likeable character, despite the things he does or allows to happen. (If he and Geoffrey Rush’s Francis Walsingham from Elizabeth ever met, they’d be formidable indeed!) Miles certainly doesn't match up to the painting one sees of Cromwell in all the history books but this isn't necessarily a bad thing - we're allowed to see Cromwell in a new light, as the commoner who came from nothing, a survivor who's well-travelled, multi-lingual, crafty and knowledgeable of people and the world. He, like his master Thomas Wolsey in some ways before him, is a sign of the times beginning to change, where nobility of birth does not guarantee high stations in life, and vice-versa. It's a demonstration of the brevity of success that was a sure-fire signature of Henry VIII's Tudor court - he could raise you up then strip you down before you even knew where you were. A ruthless, tenacious, untrustworthy place to be.
But Cromwell fits it well. Miles plays him with that hint of Cockney roughness; here's the Blacksmith's son, the Putney boy, who's managed to survive by becoming whatever he needs to become whenever it suits him. He's a true chameleon, but yet not one without scruples. But his honour isn't determined by the church, like the stoic unmovable character of Thomas More - it's a personal, family-orientated loyalty borne from trust and simple caring. Here's a low-born man who genuinely cares for his family and close friends, who never ceases to be loyal to Wolsey, long after that figure has been destroyed by the vipers nest at Henry VIII's court... There's something to admire in Cromwell. And I think a lot of the appeal of this shining new image of this historical figure, who I personally have never seen painted as anything but a dark and sinister individual, is that he's one of "us" - he's not noble-born, he's had nothing handed to him on a plate, he has worked and grafted and earned his just rewards. Everyone likes the "working class" hero, the one who puts the rich boys in their places.
But don't let the kindness and the seeming un-threatening build and manner of this character fool you. Cromwell is a creature who knows when the wind is changing and he turns with it like the proverbial weather vane. Where Thomas More smashes upon the rocks with his unshakable conscience and religious fervour, Thomas Cromwell just alters his person and goes with the flow. He's quick to react where there might be danger (the horror the other characters feel when Cromwell unwittingly touches the king in one scene, having reacted to the king threatening his person!), but though he clearly could take care of himself in a fight, his greatest weapon is his ability to be everyone's friend - even past the point when they realise he is no longer theirs. There's a very chilling scene between Cromwell and Mark Smeaton in the second play where Mark only realises, too late, that Cromwell is not having an off-hand chat with him about Anne Boleyn, but is taking down his testimony for a court trial that condemns Mark as well as many others. He is on the king's business, and that's all that matters.
Ben Miles is all this and more, a Cromwell which we would never picture in our heads, but who we immediately accept and - God help us - we begin to like him! And he's just so darn likeable! The touching family scenes, the sad loss of his wife - beautifully illustrated by a clever exit from the stage by his spouse - and the fondness with which he treats his son and his man-servants, even the foul-mouthed Christophe! He doesn't flatter the king unduly, he's crisp and cold and honest, and he deals with his enemies as slickly and fluently as his friends. He really is a fabulous and fascinating rendition of this much maligned historical figure.
The ghost of Cardinal Wolsey helps Cromwell think through situations in Bring Up The Bodies, having lost his life during Wolf Hall
The play itself is quite Cromwellian, if that's the term, in how it comes across. There are no plush sets or set pieces, just a Spartan stage, with scenes fading into and out of each other with stunning slickness, alacrity and speed. Ben Miles literally spends most of his time doing about-turns as he wheels straight from one scene into the next. And I think it personally works extremely well. The only opulence is in the costumes, and this is fine because the characters are important, they're everything - this story revolves around these people and their politics and hypocrisies, so what need do we have of exquisite backdrops or scenery? A boat ride is a stack of characters swaying with appropriate lighting and sound effects; a forest is another shift of lighting and sounds; so too is the Tower. The hearth of Cromwell's house, or Henry's apartments in the Palace, pop up from grates in the floor wherever they are needed. The imagination is engaged where needed, and the cast does the rest.
Some of the cast of characters
There's so much and more to talk about but I would probably start repeating myself soon. I didn't really have any gripes with the plays, though their rendition of Thomas More was quite far apart from the one of my own imagination - but it's always interesting to see a fresh approach, a different idea of a character, and poor Thomas More seems to be on the downward spiral in recent times, since Jeremy Northam's version in "The Tudors" TV series highlighted the ruthless, less-than-kind side of this stoney man.
Henry cowes Gardiner
On a quick final note, the play is excellent at demonstrating how hypocritical and ludicrous the workings of Henry's court was in relation to his marriage problems. No sooner does he have Anne, after years of waiting, than he casts her off again for terrible little excuses... It's quite terrifying.
(But despite all this doom and gloom, the plays do have quite a surprising number of lighthearted moments and you will laugh!)
I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the BBC does with its TV adaptation of these novels now. They will no doubt have more time to focus on the many issues and scenarios in the books which the plays could only about skimp upon, but I hope it is as engaging and enthralling as it's theatrical predecessor.
Ben Miles as Cromwell with the executioner's sword in Bring Up The Bodies. All photos c/o RSC.org.uk
(He has a kind of Jeremy Irons look about him, I think... is that just me?)
The Cromwell of Mantel's novels is such a bloody likeable character, despite the things he does or allows to happen. (If he and Geoffrey Rush’s Francis Walsingham from Elizabeth ever met, they’d be formidable indeed!) Miles certainly doesn't match up to the painting one sees of Cromwell in all the history books but this isn't necessarily a bad thing - we're allowed to see Cromwell in a new light, as the commoner who came from nothing, a survivor who's well-travelled, multi-lingual, crafty and knowledgeable of people and the world. He, like his master Thomas Wolsey in some ways before him, is a sign of the times beginning to change, where nobility of birth does not guarantee high stations in life, and vice-versa. It's a demonstration of the brevity of success that was a sure-fire signature of Henry VIII's Tudor court - he could raise you up then strip you down before you even knew where you were. A ruthless, tenacious, untrustworthy place to be.
But Cromwell fits it well. Miles plays him with that hint of Cockney roughness; here's the Blacksmith's son, the Putney boy, who's managed to survive by becoming whatever he needs to become whenever it suits him. He's a true chameleon, but yet not one without scruples. But his honour isn't determined by the church, like the stoic unmovable character of Thomas More - it's a personal, family-orientated loyalty borne from trust and simple caring. Here's a low-born man who genuinely cares for his family and close friends, who never ceases to be loyal to Wolsey, long after that figure has been destroyed by the vipers nest at Henry VIII's court... There's something to admire in Cromwell. And I think a lot of the appeal of this shining new image of this historical figure, who I personally have never seen painted as anything but a dark and sinister individual, is that he's one of "us" - he's not noble-born, he's had nothing handed to him on a plate, he has worked and grafted and earned his just rewards. Everyone likes the "working class" hero, the one who puts the rich boys in their places.
But don't let the kindness and the seeming un-threatening build and manner of this character fool you. Cromwell is a creature who knows when the wind is changing and he turns with it like the proverbial weather vane. Where Thomas More smashes upon the rocks with his unshakable conscience and religious fervour, Thomas Cromwell just alters his person and goes with the flow. He's quick to react where there might be danger (the horror the other characters feel when Cromwell unwittingly touches the king in one scene, having reacted to the king threatening his person!), but though he clearly could take care of himself in a fight, his greatest weapon is his ability to be everyone's friend - even past the point when they realise he is no longer theirs. There's a very chilling scene between Cromwell and Mark Smeaton in the second play where Mark only realises, too late, that Cromwell is not having an off-hand chat with him about Anne Boleyn, but is taking down his testimony for a court trial that condemns Mark as well as many others. He is on the king's business, and that's all that matters.
Ben Miles is all this and more, a Cromwell which we would never picture in our heads, but who we immediately accept and - God help us - we begin to like him! And he's just so darn likeable! The touching family scenes, the sad loss of his wife - beautifully illustrated by a clever exit from the stage by his spouse - and the fondness with which he treats his son and his man-servants, even the foul-mouthed Christophe! He doesn't flatter the king unduly, he's crisp and cold and honest, and he deals with his enemies as slickly and fluently as his friends. He really is a fabulous and fascinating rendition of this much maligned historical figure.
The ghost of Cardinal Wolsey helps Cromwell think through situations in Bring Up The Bodies, having lost his life during Wolf Hall
The play itself is quite Cromwellian, if that's the term, in how it comes across. There are no plush sets or set pieces, just a Spartan stage, with scenes fading into and out of each other with stunning slickness, alacrity and speed. Ben Miles literally spends most of his time doing about-turns as he wheels straight from one scene into the next. And I think it personally works extremely well. The only opulence is in the costumes, and this is fine because the characters are important, they're everything - this story revolves around these people and their politics and hypocrisies, so what need do we have of exquisite backdrops or scenery? A boat ride is a stack of characters swaying with appropriate lighting and sound effects; a forest is another shift of lighting and sounds; so too is the Tower. The hearth of Cromwell's house, or Henry's apartments in the Palace, pop up from grates in the floor wherever they are needed. The imagination is engaged where needed, and the cast does the rest.
Some of the cast of characters
There's so much and more to talk about but I would probably start repeating myself soon. I didn't really have any gripes with the plays, though their rendition of Thomas More was quite far apart from the one of my own imagination - but it's always interesting to see a fresh approach, a different idea of a character, and poor Thomas More seems to be on the downward spiral in recent times, since Jeremy Northam's version in "The Tudors" TV series highlighted the ruthless, less-than-kind side of this stoney man.
Henry cowes Gardiner
On a quick final note, the play is excellent at demonstrating how hypocritical and ludicrous the workings of Henry's court was in relation to his marriage problems. No sooner does he have Anne, after years of waiting, than he casts her off again for terrible little excuses... It's quite terrifying.
(But despite all this doom and gloom, the plays do have quite a surprising number of lighthearted moments and you will laugh!)
I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the BBC does with its TV adaptation of these novels now. They will no doubt have more time to focus on the many issues and scenarios in the books which the plays could only about skimp upon, but I hope it is as engaging and enthralling as it's theatrical predecessor.