A new Royal Shakespeare Company dramatisation of Hilary Mantel’s historical novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies plays in two parts at the Aldwych theatre in London from Thursday 1 May 2014 for a limited run until the 6th September.
Due to the overwhelming popularity of these shows tickets are in short supply.
The stage versions of Hilary Mantel’s Booker-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies are to transfer to the West End theatre after a sell-out success in Stratford-upon-Avon since opening in December.
Set in Tudor England, the plays tell of Thomas Cromwell, the commoner-turned-politician who became King Henry VIII’s right-hand man. Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies each last three hours and star Ben Miles as Cromwell and Nathaniel Parker as Henry
Mantel said the transfer announcement had left her “buzzing”.
“We’re delighted to give more people the chance to see the production,” said Mantel, whose best-selling novels are also currently being adapted for the small screen.
“The Royal Shakespeare Company has historically pulled off some epic productions at the Aldwych theatre, so for us it has worked out beautifully” she added.
The two books have been adapted for the stage by Mike Poulton, with the plays directed by Jeremy Herrin, artistic director of the Headlong theatre company.
Wolf Hall was published in 2009, named after the Seymour family seat of Wolfhall in Wiltshire. The fictional story is set in the period from 1500 to 1535, documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More.
Cromwell was born to a working-class family of no position or name, and rose to become the right-hand man of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, adviser to the King. He survived Wolsey’s fall from grace to eventually took his place as the most powerful of King Henry’s ministers. In that role, he oversaw Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn, the English church’s break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries.
Bring Up the Bodies begins where Wolf Hall ends. The King and Master Secretary Thomas Cromwell are the guests of the Seymour family at Wolf Hall. The King shares private moments with Jane Seymour, and begins to fall in love with her. His present queen, Anne Boleyn, has failed to give him a male heir and, as rumours of her infidelity spread, the King seeks a way to be rid of her, and marry the new object of his affections.
Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell owe their current high status to each other. They become pitted against each other, as Cromwell seeks to find a legitimate excuse to expel her from the King’s court. Cromwell, master politician, uses Anne’s fall from grace as a chance to settle scores with old enemies.
Wolf Hall is the first in a planned trilogy; the sequel Bring Up the Bodies was published in 2012. Author Hilary Mantel is currently working on the third instalment in her Cromwell saga, entitled The Mirror and the Light.
Latecomers will not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance:
Bring Up The Bodies patrons will be admitted after approximately 17 minutes
Bring Up The Bodies tickets in London:
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Booking Dates
First Performance
Thursday 1st January 1970
Last Performance
Thursday 1st January 1970
