Review – A Man For All Seasons, Festival Theatre, Chichester, 31st January 2025

Posted on February 2, 2025 by therealchrisparkle

Our fascination with all things Henry VIII, Norfolk, Cromwell, More, Cranmer et al is seemingly unending. The Wolf Hall trilogy is not only a bestseller but has spawned a successful TV series and countless dining table conversations. But 65 years ago Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons appeared on stage for the first time, enjoying long runs in the West End and on Broadway, and with star-studded film versions in both 1966 and 1988. And this continued fascination was certainly reflected by the lack of empty seats in Chichester’s Festival Theatre on Friday night, as well as the audience’s riveted attention being held throughout with pin-drop silence.

A Man For All Seasons approaches the Henry VIII – Catherine of Aragon divorce and resultant split with the Catholic Church from the angle of Sir Thomas More, the Lord Chancellor who refused to consent to the divorce; and whilst he never actively proclaimed his disapproval, that was never going to be enough to satisfy the King. More’s morals and principles set him on an impossible course, leading to his being found guilty of high treason and his ultimate execution.

This current touring production by the Theatre Royal Bath is strong, simple, clear and gimmick-free, directed with unobtrusive sensitivity by Jonathan Church. Simon Higlett’s traditional costumes and set lend it an air of gravitas and authority, and a high quality cast offer a masterclass in acting. One also appreciates what a tremendous wordsmith Robert Bolt is, with beautifully shaped and constructed sentences and scenes, wonderful characterisations, and a great feel for oncoming disaster. There’s no denying it – the first act is both dense and intense, requiring deep concentration from the audience as we start to see life closing in on More; and the second act gains incredible momentum as chit-chat becomes an unofficial inquiry, and then legal hearings and an eventual trial in court and dispensation of justice (such as it is.) You can always rely on a courtroom scene on stage to be thrilling!

Bolt’s structural brainwave with this play was to have the Common Man as a unifying thread throughout the whole story. Someone who can relate directly to the audience, commenting on the action and characters, who can assume a variety of minor but vital roles as the plot progresses; the Common Man is both one of us in the stalls and one of them on stage. Casting Gary Wilmot in this role is a masterstroke as he is both a genius in stagecraft but also truly has the common touch, and it comes as no surprise that he gives a tremendous performance.

Another fine actor, Edward Bennett, takes to the role of Thomas Cromwell like a duck to water, blending the character’s fastidious attention to detail with a ruthless sadism. He clearly relishes the task of taking down an enemy; but he also reveals that, with the unpredictability of the king, he has no choice but to win at all costs, otherwise no doubt his head will be for the chop too. Calum Finlay is excellent as Richard Rich, portraying the character’s journey from humble start to eventual glory by means of backstabbing and betrayal; Bolt paints him as ruthlessly ambitious at all costs, and Mr Finlay convinces us perfectly.

There’s excellent support from Abigail Cruttenden as More’s wife Alice, unable to understand why he adheres to his collision course to ruination, and from Annie Kingsnorth as his relentlessly positive daughter Margaret. Orlando James has a splendid cameo as Henry VIII, almost unhinged with his own power, and Asif Khan is a delightfully meddlesome and untrustworthy Ambassador Chapuys; but everyone turns in a great performance and there is not one weak or ineffectual scene.

Heading the cast is Martin Shaw as Thomas More, recently turned 80 years but still a powerhouse on stage, with an apparently effortless yet physically demanding performance capturing the character’s unswerving constancy and honest decency.He gives us an impeccable portrayal of a stiff upper lip, only just letting the emotions show in the final moments when he can hold them back no longer.

After its week in Chichester, the tour continues to Malvern, Cheltenham, Oxford, Guildford, Canterbury and Richmond. A powerful play given a fittingly powerful performance.

Four They’re Jolly Good Fellows!

Review – The Cat and the Canary, Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 2nd October 2024

Posted on October 4, 2024 by therealchrisparkle

The Cat and the Canary, which closes the Chichester Summer Festival for 2024, is a co-production with Told By An Idiot, whose previous work has always specialised in the wackier forms of comedy but with a serious underlying message. This popular old story, that first came to light over a hundred years ago, ought to be the perfect vehicle for the company, with its combination of humour, shock horror and downright silliness. But does it work?

Carl Grose’s adaptation transports the setting to somewhere near Bodmin Moor, but otherwise keeps the basics of the original, with a scary old house miles from anywhere, a diverse bunch of extraordinary house guests, eccentric old retainers, and the obligatory filthy weather outside. It’s time to read the will of Cyrus West who died ten or twenty years ago (not sure when – nor do we know why it wasn’t read when he died, but, hey ho) and to discover which of his money-grabbing relatives is going to get all the dosh. It is revealed that the inheritance all goes to one person, unless they are not of sound mind, in which case there is an alternative arrangement. However, before the will is read, solicitor Crosby discovers that it had already been discovered in its secret hiding place and opened and read by a person or persons unknown. It’s just not cricket.

I should point out that the performance I saw was the final preview, but I can’t imagine much will have changed between then and the press night. There are plenty of things that this production does well, and quite a few where it most surprisingly doesn’t. Let’s start with the positives.

It’s a very funny script, including one line which made me laugh possibly more than any other line in a play all year: the set-up is the housekeeper asking the pompous actor if he was scared of finding himself in a big, gloomy house – I won’t spoilt it with the punchline, but the production gets an extra star for that. The cast all give fully charged, committed performances including a few examples of tremendous physical comedy. Nick Haverson’s flipping between the two roles of Crosby and Hendricks is done tremendously well, and I did enjoy Lena Kaur’s Susan Sillsby’s outrageous drunk routine. And there are some inspired pieces of comic invention, such as Mr Haverson abandoning his drum set and descending to the stage using a fireman’s pole, for absolutely no reason other than the fact that he can.

But there’s the rub; there are several comic interventions and directorial decisions that are done just because they can, and with no relevance that I could make out to the play or story itself. There is an occasional appearance of a Red Riding Hood type puppet that looks and feels spooky but doesn’t seem to have any connection to the rest of the plot. The final scene involves a red curtain being brought across the back of the stage and a character going behind it and popping her head through the curtains for some comic business. Then, lights out, finita la comedia. Not the remotest clue what that was about.

The play is only about two hours long including a twenty minute interval, so it feels very uneven to have a first act that’s over an hour and a second act that’s all done and dusted in thirty-five minutes – shades of Glengarry Glen Ross there. The denouement, if you can call it that, feels very rushed in that brief second act. It comes on you unexpectedly and totally lacking suspense, so that the whodunit revelation makes you think – is that all?

Technically, it’s an odd decision to make the offstage cast members getting into place at the back of the stage so visible to the audience; as a result, no appearance coming through the door is ever a surprise. But perhaps the biggest fault of all is that the blocking is terrible. We had fairly central seats in Row C and so many of the scenes were rendered invisible by actors standing immobile in our sightline.

Truly a curate’s egg. A lovely sense of the ridiculous – that’s undeniable, and with some excellent spooky effects and a script that sometimes sparkles sensationally. But less is often more, and throwing the kitchen sink at this production devoids it of any sense of danger or tension. This tale told by an idiot really does signify nothing, unfortunately. That said, I did laugh a lot, so it does something right!

Three-sy Does It!