Wolf Hall parts one and two

[foxy]

Since there was a reasonable offer of both parts today on TDF for $78 I purchased tickets. So this afternoon and evening I will dive into 6 hours of off with her head. Should be and exciting day (and evening). Next week the PBS version will start with Mark Rylance and it will be interesting to see how the two compare. The stage version apparently is quite simple in terms of sets while the film version quite opulent.

Review tomorrow. Here's hoping my backside will survive unscathed.

[foxy]

I needn't have worried about sitting almost 6 hours for Wolf Hall. It speeds along like a locomotive and didn't lag for a moment. I was very happy with my discount seats. Part One I was sitting in the mezzanine. The Winter Garden is a shallow theater so you aren't all that far from the stage. I was especially happy that I was sitting in the 6th row center orchestra for Part Two. I was really close to the action and there's plenty of that. The set is what appears to be concrete walls and very minimalist. Occasionally fire bursts forth from the floor to suggest fireplaces. The props mostly consist of a few chairs and tables which are rapidly set up and removed as needed. It's basically a bare stage. That's important since that actors are almost always in constant movement. The dialog is fast and often quite funny. The large cast is wonderful. It is the RSC after all. Ben Miles who portrays Thomas Cromwell delivers a tour de force performance and is really the star of the show. I don't think he ever left the stage and it's hard to take your eyes off him. He's both sympathetic and a cobra at the same time. I think tickets will be hard to get once the show opens.

Now I'm looking forward to the BBC version which will be broadcast on PBS next week. Reviews have been terrific. Time to put the books on my reading list.

[edjames]

Thanks for the update. I'm seeing it on Wednesday, both parts.

 

Ed

[+ beethoven]

Glad to know you enjoyed "Wolf Hall." I have tickets for June, and I'm planning to start the first book next week.

 

I was wondering if you think I should watch the PBS "Wolf Hall" next week, or record it for after I see the play?

[foxy]

I spoke to a friend today in England who has seen the BBC version and has also read the books. He was also familiar with Ben Miles who is in the NY stage production. From what I gather each is different in its own way. I don't think seeing the filmed version before the stage production would spoil it for you in any way.

[body2body]

I am envious, last summer I could not get a ticket for Wolf Hall. The books are wonderful. Here is an article from The Telegraph where Ben Miles discusses his approach to the role of Cromwell, and how it differs from Mark Rylance portrayal of the same character in the BBC version. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/11424535/Ben-Miles-Wolf-Hall-Hilary-Mantel-and-my-version-of-Thomas-Cromwell.html

[Okliehomo]

I bought the dvds of the BBC version. Plan on watching it this weekend. A little royal intrigue to get me in the mood for Game of Thrones on the 12.

[+ beethoven]

Has anyone read the Hillary Mantel book (books)? I'm seeing the R S C on Broadway in June, and decided to bone up on my English history. I didn't like the book at all, and won't finish it. Booker Prize or no Booker Prize, she has a deliberately opaque style of writing. Instead of saying to the reader, "Come on in," she's telling us that if we really want to enter her privileged sanctuary, we'll have to work at it. Sorry, madame, but I prefer Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCollough and James McPherson. I'm also looking forward to the Masterpiece Theater version on PBS.

[actor61]

Has anyone read the Hillary Mantel book (books)? I'm seeing the R S C on Broadway in June, and decided to bone up on my English history. I didn't like the book at all, and won't finish it. Booker Prize or no Booker Prize, she has a deliberately opaque style of writing. Instead of saying to the reader, "Come on in," she's telling us that if we really want to enter her privileged sanctuary, we'll have to work at it. Sorry, madame, but I prefer Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCollough and James McPherson. I'm also looking forward to the Masterpiece Theater version on PBS.

 

I enjoyed the books once I understood the style of writing but I agree with your word "opaque". For example, instead of writing, "Cromwell said..." she writes, "He. Cromwell. Said:..." I read both "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" in about 2 weeks, so that I'd be ready for the series on PBS, which combines the 2. There's not much about Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Wolsey and Cromwell I don't already know, being an immense history/royalty buff, so my interest is in watching Mark Rylance - I'm a huge fan. I like the fact that Boleyn is not portrayed as a young woman manipulated by the men around her and a "victim". She was shrewd, calculating, vengeful and murderous - just like her husband - and although I don't think she deserved having her head severed by a French swordsman, she certainly deserved some jail time. I would love to see the RSC stage version but for now will content myself with the superb Rylance and company.

[uwsman2]

I enjoyed the books, but it took me some time to get into the rhythm of the writing. It is deliberately opaque because our knowledge of Cromwell is opaque and she is trying to present his story from his own perspective. Curt, blunt, not revealing much of his inner self at first. Once you get into the swing of it, it becomes quite absorbing. I'll be seeing b oth parts of the Broadway production this Sunday. It got a rave in the NY Times this morning.

[uwsman2]

Saw Parts 1 & 2 today. I definitely recommend it, although I didn't find it as absorbing and enlightening as the books. I guess all that interior monologue really can't be done on the stage without lots of soliloquies, and they don't go that route. But the cast is superb (with some very cute guys!!), the production is imaginative, and the unit set works very well with excellent costumes, lighting design and minimal props. There were plenty of empty seats in the balcony, so I assume it is readily available at the half-price booth and with on-line discount offers.

[foxy]

I've been watching the BBC version and so far I've found the first two episodes a bit dull. Maybe because I thought the stage version was so fast paced and perhaps live action more exciting. Of course I will stick with the filmed version and perhaps it will pick up some steam as the plot thickens.

[skynyc]

Agree that this is definitely worth the time...because the time flies, particularly in part one. Pacing is fast, but doesn't feel rushed, and the large cast is well-suited...(both literally and figuratively.) Nathaniel Parker who plays Henry VIII won the Olivier last weekend for last year's London showing. I also got it on tdf for $78 for the pair. And went to the library last weekend, and put a reserve on the first book. Ms. Mantel is apparently almost finished with book three.

[foxy]

The BBC version is picking up steam but to tell the truth I still find the stage show more compelling. It still seems an easy ticket and I think most theater goers are thinking Shakespeare so hard to follow and too "arty" but I would still encourage theater goers here (a much more sophisticated audience....) to go. I think it's really one of the highlights of this season. Much more entertaining than you might think even if you like light musicals (of which I'm a fan).

[uwsman2]

Actually, the play is easier to understand than the books.