''Anne Boleyn'' is a play on the life of Anne Boleyn by the English author

Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chur ...

, which premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2010. Anne Boleyn is portrayed as a significant force in the political and religious in-fighting at court and a furtherer of the cause of Protestantism in her enthusiasm for the Tyndale Bible.

Production history

The play was commissioned by Shakespeare's Globe, and premiered at The Globe from 24 July to 21 August 2010 in a production directed by

John Dove John Dove (−1664/65) was a parliamentary politician during the English Civil War and Interregnum. He has sometimes been numbered amongst the regicides; however, although he sat as a Commissioner in the trial of Charles I at the Painted Chamber ...

and with the title role played by Miranda Raison (also playing Boleyn in Shakespeare's ''Henry VIII'' in the same season). It was presented alongside the Globe's first season of Shakespeare's

history play History is one of the three main genres in Western theatre alongside tragedy and comedy, although it originated, in its modern form, thousands of years later than the other primary genres. For this reason, it is often treated as a subset of trage ...

s, made up of ''

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

'', '' Henry IV Part 1'' and '' Henry IV Part 2''. The same production was revived in 2011 as part of the 400th anniversary celebrations of the King James Version, with most of the same cast. The play was awarded Best New Play at the WhatsOnStage Theatregoers Choice Awards 2011. In Spring 2012 the Globe's production was revived for a tour of England and Scotland, jointly produced by Shakespeare's Globe and English Touring Theatre and featuring many of the original cast although with Jo Herbert in the title role.

Plot

The ghost of Anne Boleyn arrives, carrying a blood-stained bag containing her severed head and a copy of Tyndale's Bible, and addresses the audience. The action moves to 1603, where James I arrives in London for his English coronation and finds a chest containing Anne Boleyn's coronation dress. Searching the chest's secret compartments, he finds Anne's copies of the Tyndale Bible and ''

The Obedience of a Christian Man ''The Obedience of a Christen man, and how Christen rulers ought to govern, wherein also (if thou mark diligently) thou shalt find eyes to perceive the crafty of all .'' is a 1528 book by the English Protestant author William Tyndale. The spelling ...

''. He and his lover George Villiers go to search the palace for Anne's ghost. The action shifts to Anne Boleyn at the English court, where Henry VIII meets her, falls in love with her and acquiesces to her demands to postpone their first sex until she can be his wife. Henry begins the divorce proceedings against

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

, with both Cardinal Wolsey and Wolsey's advisor manoeuvring for position. Anne goes secretly to meet with William Tyndale and he gives her a copy of the forbidden text ''The Obedience of a Christian Man''. She entrusts this to her ladies in waiting, but two of Wolsey's servants seize it from the ladies and take it to Wolsey, who is delighted to use it to discredit Anne with the king. Anne goes to Cromwell for advice and finds that he, like her, is a secret Protestant. Anne then takes Cromwell's advice and pre-empts Wolsey's action – in so doing she not only gets the book back but brings about Wolsey's fall. She also partially convinces Henry to accept the book's argument that the head of the church in England is not the pope but the king himself. The action then moves forward to winter 1532 in Calais, at a conference with Francis I of France, where Anne and Henry make love for the first time, with the divorce from Catherine and their marriage imminent. The action returns to James's reign, where he attempts to calm the Reformation that Anne's actions and Henry's divorce had unleashed, by holding the

Hampton Court Conference The Hampton Court Conference was a meeting in January 1604, convened at Hampton Court Palace, for discussion between King James I of England and representatives of the Church of England, including leading English Puritans. The conference resulte ...

between the Puritan and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

wings of the Church of England. The Puritan faction is led by John Reynolds and the Anglican one by Lancelot Andrews, both of them moderates. However, extremists on both sides such as Henry Barrowe cause the debate to drag on for over five hours, only ending when James angrily quashes any thoughts of making the Church of England presbyterian rather than

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

- his struggles with presbyterianism in the Church of Scotland have led him to believe it threatens the king's position as Supreme Head of the Church of England and supreme secular ruler by divine right. He then meets with Reynolds and Andrews privately for further discussions, which end in a compromise agreement to produce an Authorised Version of the Bible with an Anglican slant but based on the Puritan-favoured Tyndale translation. The action shifts back to Anne and the birth of the future Elizabeth I of England. She then goes to Tyndale with an offer from Cromwell of a place on the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

for the better advancement of the Protestant cause, but he refuses it and tells her that he opposes Henry's divorce and does not recognise her as Henry's true wife. Some time later Anne miscarries a male child, which bruises but does not destroy her relationship with Henry, still hopeful for a son. However, Henry then takes Anne's lady in waiting Jane Seymour as a mistress and his relationship with Anne is finally wrecked when she is imprisoned by Cromwell. Anne is then kept from communicating with Henry in the lead-up to her execution, in a pre-emptive strike by Cromwell to avoid her telling Henry of Cromwell's embezzlement of funds from dissolved monasteries. The play then ends in 1603, where Anne's ghost talks with James about the Protestant Reformation she unleashed and then addresses the audience before departing.

Cast (premiere production)

*Michael Bertenshaw –

Robert Cecil Robert Cecil may refer to: * Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563–1612), English administrator and politician, MP for Westminster, and for Hertfordshire * Robert Cecil (1670–1716), Member of Parliament for Castle Rising, and for Wootton Ba ...

, advisor to James * Sam Cox –

Lancelot Andrews Lancelot Andrewes (155525 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I and James I of England, James I. During the latter's reign, An ...

, head of the Anglican faction, moderate *Naomi Cranston – Lady Jane Seymour, lady-in-waiting to Anne *John Cummins] – Simpkin, servant to Wolsey and Cromwell / Parrot, servant to Cecil *Ben Deery – George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, George Villiers, lover of James *Mary Doherty – Lady Celia, lady-in-waiting to Anne * John Dougall – Thomas Cromwell, advisor to Wolsey and Henry *Will Featherstone – Sloop, servant to Wolsey and Cromwell *James Garnon – James I *Peter Hamilton Dyer – William Tyndale * Anthony Howell –

Colin Hurley Collin Hurley (born 1957) is an English actor and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the Shakespeare's Globe company, specialising in performing the works of William Shakespeare. Early career Born in ...

–

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...

/ Henry Barrow, Puritan extremist *Amanda Lawrence – Lady Rochford, chief lady-in-waiting to Anne * Miranda Raison – Anne Boleyn *Dickon Tyrrell – Dr John Reynolds, head of the Puritan faction, moderate

Unseen characters

* Thomas More *

* Princess Elizabeth * Francis I of France

Reviews

''Guardian'', 30 July 2010
*

References