Reader Reviews
Thomas More (Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Though not a great play, this is a fascinating find that is well worth staging. It's surprising how much of its themes are still relevant. This RSC ensemble are as good as its Jacobean and Spanish Golden Age predecessors and I look forward to seeing more of the Gunpowder season. - 86.130.214.48) | 06 Jan 06 |
| Thomas More is a collaborative play, originally written by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle and subsequently revised by Shakespeare and others after it was banned by the Master of the Revels. The changes made were evidently insufficient to meet the censor's objections, however, for there is no record of a performance in the play's ts own time and indeed this RSC version, seen at Stratford, is its first major production. Ever since (longer ago than I care to admit) I saw Shakespeare's actual manuscript of the one scene in this play which is known to be by him I have longed to see the play itself and I admit to having thoroughly enjoyed it! The play was probably banned initially because it depicts riots in London (which, since they arise because the Londoners resented an influx of foreigners - "Lombards", who they felt were stealing their livelihoods – strike a topical chord today). However, the fact that its principal focus is Thomas More himself who (although he responds to a request from the government of the day to help quell the riots, and ultimately becomes Lord Chancellor for his pains) in the end refuses to bow to Henry VIII's attempts to make him go against his conscience by signing articles which would undermine the power of the Church, must have also made it more than a little controversial in the eyes of the government censor. The topical nature of some of the events in the play is probably the reason why this production was staged in modern dress, although Thomas More's own story is such a powerfully moving one that I have no doubt it could be as effectively told against a strictly Tudor background (or indeed one depicting any other period). And I have to confess that it was this story, rather than the modern relevance of the play, which really gripped my attention, due in no small part to Nigel Cooke's very fine performance as Thomas More, which made him an exceedingly sympathetic character - a man of honour and integrity and who used his powers of unanswerable reason and gentle persuasion not only to stop unrest but also in the cause of general justice. He willingly acted as an arbitrator and a facilitator on behalf of others, but compromise in respect of his personal principles was anathema to him and, as a lone voice of conscience in an administration where machiavellian cunning and the ruthless pursuit of self-interest were the order of the day – not least on the part of the Henry VIII himself, although he does not actually appear in person in the play – his downfall was surely inevitable. An absorbing evening, that left me, at any rate, wanting to enhance my knowledge about the political machinations of the period in general and Thomas More in particular. This production is exciting and moving by turns, and you wil probably never get the chance to see the play again. Catch it if you can! - 194.75.129.200) | 15 Nov 05 |
| In a fairly starless season at the RSC, Nigel Cooke turns in a star performance. Hopefully we'll get the chance to see him in a better play soon. Absolutely nothing wrong with the production itself, it looks great and the ensemble acting is a joy. Unfortunately, the comedy scenes are too long and destroy dramatic tension and Moore possibly seems a little too perfect at times. For a modern audience it would need more history and less silliness to hit the mark. The night I saw it there were almost more people on the stage than in the audience which is a real shame because, despite the weakness of the text, this is an enjoyable evening (and if you book some cheap seats you might get uograded to better ones if the house isn't full!) - 80.168.23.114) | 23 Jun 05 |
| I agree more or less (!) with JeremyB below but want to give 4 stars because of the great central performance from Cooke. It is a patchy play and some bits like the play within a play are awful, but Robert Delamre's production demands work from the audience and if you do work a little its worth it... There's plenty here to think about with lots of modern resonances. - 82.69.37.108) | 25 Apr 05 |
| It did rather seem to be the work of a committee and not a committee with a single purpose either. I did NOT like the comedy Erasmus or the Marlene Dietrich Lady Vanity scenes which did not fit. I felt it got onto home ground with the Man for All Seasons second half, which seemed more purposeful. A curiosity of a play but not that bad. - 193.118.206.221) | 19 Apr 05 |
| The play itself is something of an uneven mess I'm afraid. The production is dark and at times the audibility suffers even in the small space of the Swan. There are strong performances from Geoffry Freshwater and Nigel Cooke in particular, and the play raises some interesting issues - particularly the scene attributed to Shakespeare, but overall I found this production hard work and at times plain dull. - 62.255.32.13) | 04 Apr 05 |
| There always has to be a reason why a play has gone unperformed for over 300 years. In this case, it is because about 40 minutes of good material is spread very patchily over 3 hours of performance. The couple of paragraphs that are actually by Shakespeare stand out as beacons... Fantastic production and performances, of course, from RSC - but I'm afraid the play is nothing short of BORING (especially the second part). "Specialist interest", I think. - 81.144.252.131) | 14 Mar 05 |
