RSC stages Mantel's Wolf Hall /Bring Up the Bodies - reviews
RSC turns Hilary Mantel's award-winning novels into two 'spendidly entertaining' three-hour plays
![Royal Shakespeare Company production ofBRING UP THE BODIESadapted from the book by Hilary Mantel by Mike Poultondirected by Jeremy Herrin](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EKrzXuTJteQboLVT2CKFBV-415-80.jpg)
What you need to knowThe Royal Shakespeare Company's dramatisations of Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies have won over the critics. The best-selling novels were adapted for the stage into two three-hour plays by Mike Poulton.
Set in England Tudor England, the story follows King Henry VIII, who is desperate for a male heir and petitions Cardinal Wolsey to persuade the Pope to grant him an annulment so he may remarry. Commoner and master-politician Thomas Cromwell sets out to help the King, while ruthlessly pursuing his own agenda.
Jeremy Herrin directs Nathaniel Parker as King Henry VIII and Ben Miles as Thomas Cromwell. At the Swan Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon until 29 March.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What the critics like"Transferring a winning novel to stage is difficult, but doing it with two - and succeeding - is a special feat," says Michael Billington in The Guardian. Poulton has done an outstanding job in turning the books into two epic three-hour plays that make for a gripping piece of narrative theatre and an exhilarating experience.
This Tudor double-bill is "splendidly entertaining and at times deeply touching", says Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph. Herrin's fleet staging grips throughout, and the destruction of Anne Boleyn in the second play proves splendidly dark and gripping.
It is a superb, "groaning banquet of political shenanigans and deadly intrigue", says Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail. This gripping, brutal tale has medieval plague and religious superstition, sex, sybaritic greed, and enough little daubs of cheek and gossip to show us that human nature has not much altered.
What they don't likeThe first show (Wolf Hall) is a triumph; the second is "a notch less compelling", says Dominic Maxwell in The Times. Bring Up the Bodies is a quieter, more sombre show that loses its dramatic grip now and then, but this double-bill remains a bold, unforgettable lesson in history and politics.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Douglas Is Cancelled: Hugh Bonneville plays a shamed news presenter
The Week Recommends Cancel culture drama is mostly 'clever and sharp'
By The Week UK Published
-
A Quiet Place: Day One – the 'pleasant surprise of the summer'
The Week Recommends Silence is golden in this prequel to the popular 2018 apocalyptic thriller
By The Week UK Published
-
The Bikeriders: Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy star in high-octane drama
The Week Recommends Film inspired by 1968 book about notorious biker gang in Chicago
By The Week UK Published
-
Raffles London at The OWO review: a quintessentially British stay
The Week Recommends This heritage building has been given a twist as a luxury hotel in the nation's capital
By Leaf Arbuthnot, The Week UK Published
-
The Young Woman and the Sea: Daisy Ridley stars as 'tenacious' heroine
The Week Recommends The film explores the story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the Channel
By The Week UK Published
-
Has Bridgerton lost the plot?
Talking Point Return of the hit Regency series has divided both fans and critics
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Michelangelo – the last decades review: an 'absorbing' exploration of art
The Week Recommends New exhibition focuses on works from the final 30 years of the artist's long career
By The Week UK Published
-
Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published