A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, THEATRE ROYAL, BATH
★★★★
History, religion, politics and intrigue make compelling bedfellows
If history defines who we become as a society, then Robert Holt’s play, A Man For All Seasons, is one that resonates and continues to speak to the present.
Born out of a radio play written in 1957, the piece follows the historical events leading up to the execution, for High Treason, of Sir Thomas More, the Catholic 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England, who refused to endorse King Henry VIII’s wish to divorce the ‘barren’ Catherine of Aragon, that he might marry Anne Boleyn in the hope she might deliver him an heir.
Loved by his family and commoner alike, More, a man of pious conscience envied by those who sought his downfall, went to his death a martyr, with the words, “I die the King’s good servant, and God’s first.”
This new production from Theatre Royal Bath and Jonathan Church Theatre Productions brings Martin Shaw back to the central role, a part he last played to great acclaim on London’s West End in 2006. Joining him on stage as The Common Man, if falls to Gary Wilmot to narrate the story. Both are supported by an impressive ensemble company in what is a richly dressed production that boasts a striking Tudor oak panelled set and luscious costumes, both designed by Simon Higlett.
Shaw, when he takes to the stage, in truth he is seldom off, is in commanding form. Paternal, his More brings an element of calm to an England at war with the Pope and the Church of Rome through a quiet integrity, searing intellect all laced with a degree of avuncular impudence. It’s a warm, incredibly likeable performance; Shaw’s charisma and stagecraft are simply electrifying.
As the crafty Common Man, Wilmot flits between occupations with every expense spared on costume changes, from servant to boatman to gaoler, he chats to the audience through the fourth wall, raising laughs along the way, while effortlessly changing pieces of set and scenery for what is to come. It’s a stylish piece of staging on the part of director Jonathan Church, which ensures the action flows seamlessly.
Together, Shaw and Wilmot are the dream team you never knew you needed in your life. They share an easy chemistry and prove a perfectly balanced double-act, the latter a perfect foil for the former’s impudence. A knowing twinkle never far from the eyes of both.
The cold, heartless duplicity of Edward Bennett’s devious Cromwell, in direct contrast to Shaw’s warmth, allows their more confrontational scenes together to spark with anger, resignation and frustration; Holt’s legal verbal sparring between the two, scintillatingly written, soars and is compelling.
Timothy Watson’s Norfolk too is a well considered creation, while Annie Kingsnorth is impressive as More’s loving daughter, Meg. A shout must also go to Orlando James whose brief but brilliant appearance as Henry VII is a gorgeously mercurial turn.
With the first act ending in 1530 and the second beginning in 1532, Wilmot welcomes audiences back from their ‘two year’ interval to a world where bribery, politics, religion and the machinations of Court ensure More’s dream of ‘governing the country by prayer’ is nothing more than just that a dream.
It’s safe to say that history, religion, politics and intrigue make compelling bedfellows in this piece of Must See Theatre that is elevated further by the casting of Shaw and Wilmot. Don’t miss it.
Touring to Chichester Festival Theatre (28 January-1 February) Malvern Theatre (4-8 February) Cheltenham Everyman (11-15 February) Oxford Playhouse (18-22 February) Yvonne Arnaud Guildford (25-29 February) Canterbury Marlowe (4-8 March) Richmond Theatre (11-15 March). Tickets here.
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