Queen Anne Boleyn has always intrigued historians. How on earth did she manage to convince the greedy, arrogant Henry VIII to wait for seven years before consummating their relationship – refusing to be his mistress; insisting he annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon? And how on earth did it all go so horribly wrong – after just three years of marriage – with Henry having her beheaded on the grounds of treason, adultery and incest so that he could then marry Jane Seymour?
OUR VERDICT
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In Tudor England, misogyny ruled, and whilst modern historians know that Anne Boleyn was painted as immoral in order for Henry to get rid of her, she’s still associated with these sexual transgressions. But not in this play.
In ‘Anne Boleyn’, written by Howard Brenton, commissioned by Shakespeare’s Globe and first performed there in 2010, there’s a revisionist telling of Anne’s life and legacy, in which she is shown as a martyr to the protestant cause. The play highlights her secret meetings with Matthew Tyndale, author of the ‘The Obedience of a Christian Man’ a heretical work which stated that Kings were only accountable to God and not the Pope. Anne shares this book with Henry who sees it as confirmation he can end his marriage to Catherine.
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In this Richmond Shakespeare Society’s production of ‘Anne Boleyn’, at the Mary Wallace Theare in Twickenham, we first meet Anne, played by Emily Holroyd, as a ghost, wandering onto the stage wearing a white gown and a rather clever glittering red necklace (the costumes throughout this production are top notch) which reminds us of her cruel fate. She’s also carrying an I heart London tote bag, from which she takes a flip-flop, pair of sunnies and then Tyndale’s book.
Directed by David Gray, the play has many of these incongruous moments, including characters spouting insults in a 21st century vernacular, a number of them from King James I – who bookends Anne’s scenes and who sets out with his lover, George Villiers, to find her ghost.
James is played by Nicola Doble, in a comic performance that didn’t always work. It seemed, at times, that there were two plays taking place on stage: the comic play of tote bags and sweary badinage, and the serious play that looked at betrayal, beheadings and torture, which might explain why the second half seemed to drag for me – which play did it want to be?
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Emily Holroyd, however, excels at showing us all the different facets of Anne: playful, patient, self-controlled, determined and then distraught as her life unravels horribly. Mia Keren Black as one of Anne’s ladies in waiting, Lady Rochford, is another standout performer, as a woman who’s only too aware that her life hangs precariously on the whims of the capricious Henry. Francis Abbott, too, as Thomas Cromwell, gives a strong performance as the man who at first champions Anne and then seeks her death.
An interesting, if overlong, look at a maligned woman at the centre of the Tudor dynasty.
Anne Boleyn is playing until April 25 at The Mary Wallace Theatre, The Embankment, Twickenham. Tickets: richmondshakespeare.org.uk.
