A Man for All Seasons

Earlier this week, as a joint birthday treat to ourselves, my sister and I saw the production of A Man for All Seasons currently running at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London. It has come to London after a very successful tour in the provinces. The production is very faithful Robert Bolt's text and to the Tudor setting, with no explicit attempt to read the play into a contemporary context.

And that leaves it to the individual audience member to identify what might have reference to todays life. Gary Wilmot's portrayal of the Common Man - and therefore of a range of different characters from Thomas More's steward to his jailer via, amongst other parts, the foreman of the jury at his trial- is perhaps most readily relatable as an ordinary person who just goes along with the times, while the more powerful figures who conform to Henry's wishes and so to the times are less relatable. More difficult to read is the portrayal of Norfolk's friendship with Thomas More sundered by the pressure of Cromwell and Henry. What is more difficult to see in the production, and indeed in the original text of the play, is the contemporary willingness of people in significant positions of influence to say things to the public that are not true, and to expect those statements to be accepted. It is very obvious in the perjury of Richard Rich shown in the trial, but the real contemporary parallel would be to the assertions of Henry with regard to his divorce, and those are not apparent in the play.

It was surprising just how much of the dialogue I recognised during the play, though it is now some years since I read the text or saw the 1966 film.

[There are some clips from the 1966 film starring Paul Scofield on Youtube: Because I believe and Sentencing Scene. Other scenes can probably be found on Youtube.]