“A stunning fresh take on a classic play.”
Adapted by Hannah Khalil and originally played at the Globe in 2022, Shakespeare’s work comes to the Guildhall school, with professionals and students bring this piece to life. In this adaption, the play focuses on the female characters of Henry’s life-his current wife Catherine of Aragon, his love interest Anne Boleyn and Mary-Henry and Catherine’s child.
With sonnets taken from Shakespeare’s other works, Khalil is giving the women a voice
which is missing in the original and presenting them in a new light.
The play follows Henry’s marriage to Catherine and his attempts to divorce her and marry Anne Boleyn, much to the dismay of Wolsey who is trying to orchestrate another
arrangement. The ending did feel a little disconnected and I didn’t quite understand it. I’m not sure if it was in the original play or part of the adaptation but to jump from Elizabeth being a baby to her being queen, I didn’t quite see what it brought to the piece other than reaffirming that it was part of history.
Both the director and designer, along with the lighting and sound designer (both of whom are final year students) bring the court of Henry to life in stunning period costumes. However, Elizabeth’s costume for the finale felt a little flat and almost out of place compared to the details that went into the rest of the costume. The lighting really added to the visuals and was both intense and beautiful. The use of spotlights allows the student performers to portray their characters inner thoughts and at times, feels like the fourth wall is being broken. The visuals are immaculate, the backdrop being two red curtains, one textured to give depth and perception with props such as chandeliers add to the grandeur of Henry’s court. It was a little off putting that the stage was entirely open and you could see the performers and stagehands off stage. Similarly, the sound design was really good and with the choreography of period dancing added more life to the play.
This piece is visually stunning and flawless. Some of the acting was hit and miss, but those who were good were really good and a talented group of students. In this adaptation, I personally, didn’t think that Mary added anything. I do understand that Khalil wanted to give her more of a presence as her character lacked in the original. However, the other characters didn’t really interact with her when she was on stage, apart from Catherine later in the play and throughout it felt like she was more a spirit rather than an actual active character but I do applaud Khalil for making Mary’s presence and importance in Henry’s life more prominent and trying to build a character from very little.
Some of the symbolism was a little lost on me. The characters in red seemed to be
representing different things to different characters and there was no distinction between what it was that they were representing. I think the play being in the original dialect didn’t help with understanding what was happening.
Overall, this piece is just beautiful with wonderful costumes and performed by some
talented students.