THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT ON STAGE AT THE GIELGUD

 THE MIRROR and the LIGHT - AS A THEATRE PRODUCTION

We saw the Mirror and the Light at the Gielgud Theatre, on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue with Rupert Street in London’s theatre land. It is a magic place for many and to be enjoyed over the hub-hub and crescendo of noise from passers-by and incessant traffic, although the capital is not anywhere near pre-pandemic levels. The reasonable question to ask is how safe did we feel. Many were masked and many adhered to the rules. Not all, but the underground system was never full and most seemed to want to play safe.

Hilary Mantel wrote a trilogy of Wolf Hall, Bring up the Bodies with the finale being 883 pages in The Mirror and the Light. This latter one is definitely not a bedtime read as it is heavy enough to be a door-stop! Not for me though as I am a fan of history. Okay ‘The Tudors’ have been over-done and there is still a musical to be enjoyed entitled SIX that turns the narration right around to the voices of Henry’s six wives. I wonder if #MeToo will be thrilled by it?

The base of the tale is simple. Henry wants a boy heir and a wife to supply it - with his involvement of course. That’s where complexity appears as a conception cannot be ordered up and did he fancy her enough? 

The real subject is Thomas Cromwell. A man who was a linguist, a fixer, highly skillful in ways of state and ruthless. He was a commoner too and his upbringing in ‘low-state’ Putney on the wrong side of the Thames was brutal. His Welsh blacksmith father was a violent drunkard. Cromwell’s rise was created by his allegiance to Cardinal Wolsey who he stayed loyal too. The Cardinal’s failure to secure a divorce from Queen Katherine saw the beginning of his fall and Cromwell stepping up in his place. A fall from power was to be repeated although more complex.

The King’s Court was about power and who can wield it and keep it. It was about status. We bought the excellent and informative programme and to add to my previous point I quote:

“Cromwell’s grip on English Government bewildered and infuriated upper class twits: noblemen and gentlemen who assumed that God had appointed them to be Royal Ministers by right of birth.

Alright, that’s the history, but what about this production in a Delfont Mackintosh Theatre by Playful Productions and The Royal Shakespeare Company. The stage was an open space in which the orators moved in and out freely. All so well co-ordinated as one would expect! And so ‘R.S.C’. The acting superb, sound, music, costume and lighting terrific. 

If you thought this was all serious stuff with the demises of many then to put it on a stage might require something else. At times the conversations were flippant and I didn’t expect any one to address Harry as Harry. A comment made by Michelle was `a bit Monty Python ish”. Just a tad only, I thought

When the end came, for Cromwell, it was well done and for you to see, if you wish.