By Robert Bolt, directed by Marti Maraden
Stratford Festival, Festival Theatre
May 20 to November 6, 1998
Stage Door Review by Roger Kershaw and Jim Lingerfelt

A Schofield-standard for All Seasons

A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, first produced in 1960, is a historical drama depicting the conflict between Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, and his monarch, Henry VIII, over Henry's insistence in divorcing Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. This new Stratford Festival production combines the proven talents of director (Stage Door Award Winner) Marti Maraden with the prodigious gifts of Douglas Rain, as Sir Thomas Moore and creates pure magic on stage as the audience is transported back in time to an era where one lost his head for challenging the king.

A Man for All Seasons won five Tony Awards, more than any other play except that of another famous British import, Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. While Shakespearean in time and flavour, the play's historical atmosphere has a universal appeal. The story is famous. After nearly 20 years of marriage, Henry VIII's wife, the Spanish Catherine of Aragon, has failed to bear him a son. Henry (Benedict Campbell) is eager to divorce her and marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn; however, the Church of Rome (the spiritual authority in England - and the entire Western World - at the time) and Cardinal Wolsey (Robert Benson) do not recognize divorce. Henry's friend, Sir Thomas More (Douglas Rain), a Privy Councillor and later Lord Chancellor, finds himself under great pressure both from the king and from his own family to lend his support to the divorce. Although he knows the risks of incurring the king's displeasure, More tells Henry that his conscience will not allow him to support his wishes: he can promise only not to overtly oppose them. At first, Henry is satisfied with this. However, as opposition to the divorce grows among the common people, More's deafening silence on the issue becomes an increasing embarrassment to the king. Henry eventually demands that More recognize Anne Boleyn's children as heirs to the crown and swear allegiance to them. When More refuses, he is arraigned on trumped-up charges of treason courtesy of lackeys Richard Rich (David Kirby) and Thomas Cromwell (John Dolan) and prepares for a fight for his life, one which history shows he lost.

Any production of this most interesting play will inevitably be compared to the great movie of the same name from 1968. Starring the incomparable Paul Schofield, the movie perfectly captures the imagination of the past and the hopelessness of More's predicament. Maraden's interpretation keeps the flavour and pace of the movie while the addition in the play of The Common Man (Brad Rudy), a narration device, helps interpret the action, characters and scene changes to the audience.

The production's setting during the English Reformation is designed by John Pennoyer with elegant 16th-century costuming enhancing the rather drab, but realistic colour palate of blacks and greys. Louise Guinand's effective lighting adds to the mood, especially in the river scenes and in the dreaded Tower of London.

Maraden's cast serve her well and transport us to a time and place that is at once romantic, and yet dreadful. Rain's remarkable performance gets off to a slow start, which only serves to amplify his acting in the second act, and trial scene, which we called "Schofield-standard." Rain's More is simply mesmerizing. In Campbell's short, but engaging scene, he creates an effective egotistical monarch, but his Henry is just too svelte to convince thoroughly. Supporting players are a mixed bag with Diane D'Aquila an effective doting wife as Lady Alice More, but Roy Lewis' Duke of Norfolk is the weak link in the chain. Bernard Hopkins uses his broad style to create a fascinatingly officious Spanish emissary, Signor Chapuys.

A splendid combination of timeless story, captivating script, talented cast and uncompromising production values provides another in Stratford's season of excellence.