Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies: RSC Stage Adaptation - Revised Edition - Softcover

Hilary Mantel; Mike Poulton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007590148 ISBN 13: 9780007590148

Publisher: Fourth Estate / Nick Hern Books, 2014

Synopsis

Thomas Cromwell. Son of a blacksmith, political genius, briber, charmer, bully. A man with a deadly expertise in manipulating people and events.

Mike Poulton's two-part adaptation of Hilary Mantel's acclaimed novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies is a thrilling and utterly convincing portrait of a brilliant man embroiled in the lethal, high-stakes politics of the court of Henry VIII.

Wolf Hall begins in England in 1527. Henry has been King for almost twenty years and is desperate for a male heir, but Cardinal Wolsey is unable to deliver the divorce he craves. Into this volatile court enters the commoner Thomas Cromwell, who sets out to achieve the King's desire, whilst methodically and ruthlessly pursuing his own reforming agenda.

In Bring Up the Bodies , Anne Boleyn is now Queen, her path to Henry's side cleared by Cromwell. When the King begins to fall in love with Jane Seymour, Cromwell must negotiate within an increasingly perilous court to satisfy Henry, keep the nation safe, and advance his own ambitions.

Hilary Mantel's novels are the most formidable literary achievements of recent times. She is the first writer to win the Man Booker Prize with consecutive novels. Adapted by Mike Poulton, the plays were premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December 2013, directed by Jeremy Herrin.

This edition contains a substantial set of notes by Hilary Mantel on each of the principal characters, offering a unique insight into the world of the plays and an invaluable resource to any theatre companies wishing to stage them.

About this title

Review:

One hesitates to use the phrase a marriage made in heaven in the vicinity of Henry VIII but that would be a fair way of describing this brilliant union between the RSC and Hilary Mantel ... Such is the dramatic skill of the adaptation by Mike Poulton (with whom Mantel has worked closely) ... that, if the final instalment of the trilogy had been completed and turned into a play, I would gladly have stayed up all night. Paul Taylor, Independent

A triumph ... gripping yet darkly funny ... a rollicking yarn that gives an eye-level idea of life at the Tudor court ... a bold, unforgettable lesson in history and politics. The Times

Mike Poulton has done an outstanding job ... a gripping piece of narrative theatre ... characters have a three-dimensional richness ... This is history made manifest ... These plays are about class, passion, conscience, religious freedom and the danger of living in a society where power goes unchecked ... they show that novels can sometimes be made into very good plays. Michael Billington, Guardian

The mother of all costume dramas: a six-hour Tudor epic ... a groaning banquet of political shenanigans and deadly intrigue ... Poulton pulls off a remarkable act. Daily Mail

Dark and gripping ... splendidly entertaining and at times deeply touching. Telegraph

Event theatre of the highest brow ... nail-bitingly tense ... Historical drama of the highest calibre. Daily Express

Poulton's script brings the intrigues and political machinations to the stage with clarity, wit and plenty of very welcome humour ... Poulton, Herrin and Hilary Mantel have produced something quite special here. It is an intelligent, fresh and dramatic retelling of a very familiar period of history ... the writing is first class a real gem of a script for audience and actors alike. --whatsonstage.com

About the Author:

Hilary Mantel is the author of thirteen books , including A Place of Greater Safety , Beyond Black , and the memoir Giving Up the Ghost . Her two most recent novels, Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies , have both been awarded The Man Booker Prize an unprecedented achievement.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate / Nick Hern Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0007590148
• ISBN 13: 9780007590148
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256