Have you read Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel?
I hope so… and if not, I believe you are in for a treat.
Let me digress…
Yesterday I played hookie… it felt like that.
I went to a matinee performance of Wolf Hall in Covent Garden.
Lunch first and then three hours of gripping theatre from the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The best girl’s day out of all.
I felt like a naughty schoolgirl playing truant.
I should have been working on French Essence.
Yet how could I refuse such an invitation… and besides, what is the point of being in this amazing city if you don’t take advantage.
The play is a standout, especially if you are an English history fan and a Henry VIII one at that.
Even though the outcome of the play is a given, the facts have spoken for themselves for hundreds of years… the story is as fresh as its origin and the execution of the screenplay by Hilary Mantel… in a word, brilliant.
“England in 1527. Henry VIII has been King for almost 20 years and is desperate for a male heir. Intent on divorce he demands that Cardinal Wolsey persuade the Pope to grant him an annulment. With every month that passes without progress the King’s anger grows. Into this volatile court enters the commoner Thomas Cromwell.”
Sitting, listening and watching this powerful performance had me in awe of these actors and their trade.
How grateful I was to escape into their world, to be entertained by their characters.
Apart from the gripping plot and the austere yet quite perfect set I couldn’t help but feel drawn to the costumes.
I need no excuse for fashion inspiration.
Velvet and ruffles… a richness of costume that left me wanting to embellish my own wardrobe.
If you chance to be in London in the next few weeks… try and secure a ticket… the run has been extended.
You won’t be sorry… xv
Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies
49 Aldwych
London WC2B 4DF
+44 (0) 844 200 7981
Where To Eat
The Delaunay
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**Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies both by Hilary Mantel
