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A review by skconaghan
Henry VIII by William Shakespeare
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Meh.
The best part of this play is the speech at the end about baby Elizabeth who later becomes Elizabeth I. It’s prophetic, in hindsight of course; a nice sentiment by the archbishop and a beautiful tribute by Shakespeare and Fletcher to their Queen. I have my doubts that Henry the Narcissistic Womaniser ever had a noble thought about the virtue and character of a woman, infant or not.
The rest of the play is rather uneventful being that it covers the shocking events of Cardinal Wolsey’s death, Henry’s defiance of The Church for the sake of his pursuit of Anne Boleyn, and the demise of Catherine of Aragon as a result. These things seem as though they should be a lot more dramatic than portrayed here. I know Oor Billy was a wee bit busy and ideas were hard to come by amid bubonic plague outbreaks and the raunchy competition, but this one falls flat. In light of the flammable fuses the multilayered real-life drama set to blaze, and the changes all these events brought to the course of history, I feel like this should have left me flabbergasted by the audacity and wreckage.
Speaking of fires, if I’d been in the theatre when they shot canon at the roof and burned The Globe down, I can’t say I’d have been disappointed to miss the second half…
The best part of this play is the speech at the end about baby Elizabeth who later becomes Elizabeth I. It’s prophetic, in hindsight of course; a nice sentiment by the archbishop and a beautiful tribute by Shakespeare and Fletcher to their Queen. I have my doubts that Henry the Narcissistic Womaniser ever had a noble thought about the virtue and character of a woman, infant or not.
The rest of the play is rather uneventful being that it covers the shocking events of Cardinal Wolsey’s death, Henry’s defiance of The Church for the sake of his pursuit of Anne Boleyn, and the demise of Catherine of Aragon as a result. These things seem as though they should be a lot more dramatic than portrayed here. I know Oor Billy was a wee bit busy and ideas were hard to come by amid bubonic plague outbreaks and the raunchy competition, but this one falls flat. In light of the flammable fuses the multilayered real-life drama set to blaze, and the changes all these events brought to the course of history, I feel like this should have left me flabbergasted by the audacity and wreckage.
Speaking of fires, if I’d been in the theatre when they shot canon at the roof and burned The Globe down, I can’t say I’d have been disappointed to miss the second half…