There is a new sensation at Christ Church Drama Society, and it is called Wolf Hall. Adapted from the novel trilogy by Hilary Mantel, the theatrical version of Wolf Hall makes for a marvellous performance, to which this Dramatic Society does more than justice.
The play is performed in the Chapter House at Christ Church, a cathedral-esque room which adjoins the cathedral and gives on to cloisters and a fountain. The setting is ideal for the dark, tragic, but sometimes funny costume drama set in the sixteenth century, a fictionalised biography of Thomas Cromwell which recounts his relationship with Henry VIII and the nefarious court politics underway around them.
Cromwell is played by Tom Allen, one of the best performers of the show, who gives a brilliant picture of a tortured genius. Allen’s bold, hard, sharply controlled features; his complete immersion in Cromwell’s mind and manner; his shrewdness, his dignity, his eloquence, are the marks of an actor of rare and great power. If Cromwell had been recruited by Christ Church Dramatic Society, he could not have made a better job of it.
Ben Groom is vibrant as Henry VIII, interpreting the monarch as a laddish brute, juxtaposed with his moments of tenderness. The scene in which he and Cromwell reminisce about their younger days riding carelessly though the autumn are performed with a sincerity which is difficult to balance with the jaunty tyrant of the rest of the play, but Groom manages it, and he is a pleasure to watch.
Cherwell’s own Billy Jeffs plays Rafe Sadler and, though he has regrettably few scenes and lines, his presence is always magnetic, and the quiet loyalty of the sixteenth-century ambassador is rendered with remarkable subtlety.
Rosie Agnew plays the Lady Rochford with the restraint of character and confidence of acting which is rare and masterful in any performance, let alone student theatre. It is a shame that she was not given a more substantial character with which to display her talents.
Oona Gibbons possesses a restrained power in her turn as the ill-starred Jane Seymour, but is also capable of unselfconscious humour, as can be seen in her exchanges with Harry Williams, who plays her brother Edward Seymour. Williams is a bright and revelatory performer who has not, to my knowledge, acted in student theatre before, but who seems to have found his calling.
Harriet Wellock acts very convincingly as Dorothea, the illegitimate daughter of Thomas Wolsey, but she would have benefitted from more stage time.
Milo Marsh plays Ambassador Chapuys, and such is his complete understanding of that character that the audience does not for a moment doubt that he is the sixteenth-century ambassador of the play. It is a rare talent which can embody a character so well.
Dorina Nencheva plays the fourth of Henry’s wives and does so with a restraint, subtlety, and complete unselfconsciousness in her acting which makes her portrayal excellent.
Cameron Spruce is the scheming, arrogant, contemptuous Wriothesley, who helps plot Cromwell’s downfall. His passionate jealousy makes the room ring, and when he loudly stresses the plosive in “Putney!”, as a mark of his contempt for Cromwell’s birthplace, it is one of the most impactful moments of the play.
Charlie White plays the Duke of Norfolk, a character who has always confused me, because there seemed to be about forty Dukes of Norfolk in the A Level Tudors textbook. There is nothing confusing about White’s performance: it is bold and fantastic; Norfolk’s crudeness and his jealousy against Cromwell are superbly done.
Another of the best performers of the evening is Georgie Cotes, who acts as the future Bloody Mary. She only occupies a handful of scenes and is missing from the second half of the play. But her vivid, ruthless passion, the hard glint of her eye and subtle changes of expression as she performs, the frightening ring of her shouts as she loses her temper – all betoken a truly great performer.
Directors Harriet Wellock and Catherine Williams-Boyle, as well as producers Billy Jeffs and Felix Kerrison-Adams, have done a fantastic job with this production. Anyone who enjoys good theatre should watch it.
