REVIEW Henry 8th

23rd August 2006 (Dress Rehearsal)
Holy Trinity Church

Aand BC Theatre Company

Directed by Gregory Thompson

“With its fabulous spectacle of Tudor masques, Royal Councils, the delirious imaginings of the dying Katherine of Arragon, the coronation of Anne Bullen and the christening of Elizabeth I, Henry VIII appears to celebrate the events that led to the schism of the English Reformation.” (RSC Website)

Unable to work this show, I attended the Final Dress Rehearsal – along with 200 other people! My overall feeling was that it was good – but not great.

Performed in Holy Trinity Church it was an unusual space to be used as a theatre – most well known as Shakespeare’s burial place. The company created a long narrow space with the audience facing each other on the sides. (Handy if you weren’t enjoying the performance, as you could watch the audience on the other side). The cast would walk up and down this area, and also perform at either end. At times, as the cast projected a scene from one end to another – by that I mean one person at one end and the other cast member at the other end – it felt like you were watching tennis, back and forth, back and forth, and not knowing where to watch. Do you watch the person saying the line, or the reaction of the person receiving it??

Sitting in the front row was a wonderful experience. This is not something I ever thought I would say! It meant that many times, I could reach out and touch the actors – and I really felt that they used that to their advantage. We became guests at the ball, members of the court, and part of the blessing celebrations for the newly arrived Elizabeth I.

It was full Tudor costume – the puffy sleeves and silly hats. Sometimes I though they just looked ridiculous, but it did suit the play. And they were exquisite costumes, rich in colour, embroidered, and varied.

Overall I thought it was a strong cast, with a magnificent Henry 8th (Antony Bryne, who even looked like Henry 8th). Katherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife (played by Corinne Jaber) was weak, sometimes losing her lines, her place, and with a strange accent that grated on my nerves somewhat.

The star of the show however, was the young Elizabeth – played by a real baby. A gorgeous little girl, at a mere 3 months of age was the standout of the show at the end during her christening, and I didn’t even listen to the last 10 minutes of the play as I was going ga ga over the baby!

It’s a funny play - it felt like party piece. It is considered one of his last plays, and it is known that much of it was written by John Fletcher (with whom Shakespeare would go on to collaborate a number of times again). Although it had weighty matters – the birth of Protestant England, politics, Church vs State etc, it still had a frivolous, witty style. This I think may be it’s downfall – I didn’t connect with the history nor the dramatic nature of the history it was meant to portray.