Henry VIII At The Globe Theatre, London Review

Reviewed by Anon

Last night was a new experience for many reasons. It was my first time at the Globe Theatre in London, watching a show i knew very little about- ‘Henry VIII’ by William Shakespeare himself. The extent of my knowledge is the famous ‘Divorce Beheaded Died’ story and, of course, that a lot of Shakespeare’s plays are focused on the male perspective- however resident writer Hannah Khalil and Director Amy Hodge flipped this royal story on its head, telling it from the view of the forgotten women in Henry’s story. The female characters in the original script were underwritten or had no lines at all, Khalil works around this by injecting the female characters in the script with pieces of text from other plays in Shakespeare’s canon of writing. Hodge and Khalil also gave a voice to the women of the story with the use of song- which gave me chills! The musicianship was phenomenal, with folkish orchestrations and empowering lyrics “Forgive us our opinions, we have no choice in it”.

Now I know what your thinking- the female stories of Henry VIII with music… that’s just SIX the Musical right? Wrong. This production still keeps its Shakespearean integrity with gorgeous use of language and multiple stories that collide at the end, including the fall of Cardinal Wolsey and the birth of Queen Elizabeth I. This play focuses on two of Henrys wives only, Queen Katharine (of Aragon) and Anne Bullen (Boleyn), It begins with the family- Henry, Katharine and their daughter princess Mary (who originally had no lines)- but in a turn of political events that force Henry to have a male heir, he divorced Katharine and chooses Anne to be his new wife. The plays timeline ends with Anne Boleyn giving birth to a girl, Elizabeth.

It’s worth mentioning this production contains overt sexual content, an on-stage depiction of an execution, and an on-stage depiction of childbirth. There are also latex balloons, sudden loud noises, and use of stage blood and a gun. It’s certainly not a family friendly show- with an giant inflatable penis and two inflatable balls that appear for a raunchy musical number!

Something that intrigued me about this performance is the way they decided to portray our titular character. Henry was dressed in an oversized King Blazer and Toy Crown- and his personality was reflective, with frequent outbursts of spoilt tantrums and babyish voice. On one hand, this seems like a parody of the character and turns the whole thing into a sort of farcical comedy but looking at the themes behind this production ( Feminism, lineage, oppression) it lent itself to the comparisons of gender. It heightened the significance of what the women in the play had to put up with- and even if they were stronger and more intelligent, the misogyny of the monarchy forced them to bend to this child’s will.

Some of the most standout performances came from Bea Segura, playing the dutiful but strong and passionate wife, Queen Katharine and Kevin McMonagle playing the deadpan hilarious Chamberlain. A special shout-out to the narrator/singer Genevieve Dawson- who led the cast in song with her technically perfect and soulful voice.

I wasn’t entirely fond of the comedy that was placed upon Anne’s childbirth scene. They used a huge stretchy dress and had chamberlain dive into her, popping up every now and then with forceps and other humorous items until producing a baby. This felt a little tasteless as this was a very traumatic and pivotal moment in the young Anne’s life- it was just sort of turned into a joke? I did however throughout enjoy the use of the blue and pink balloons to signify the sex of the babies, and also used as the pregnancy bump- how innovative!

Overall, I had a fabulous time and learnt a lot about history and Shakespeare’s canon of work accompanied by song and dance!

Further info about theatre-

The toilets were clean and rather fancy! (With moisturiser for those washed hands). The bar snacks and refreshments were varied and tasty but very overpriced, selling a handful of wine gums for over £2.50. The stage and auditorium itself are iconic and visually incredible- it’s worth noting it’s a roofless theatre so dress for the appropriate weather! If you are in one of the seated areas, as I was- be aware that the benches are backless and wooden, you can hire cushions to sit on for £2.50 but they are not the comfiest. It really didn’t bother me too much but if you have back problems or other health issues it may be something to think about- the ushers have some back support options for you!

Tickets cost from £25 for seated and £5 for standing. Henry VIII is at The Globe Theatre from 28th May to 21st October. For more info or to book tickets visit: https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/henry-viii-2022/#0 or call the box office on: 02074019919

21 New Globe Walk, London SE1 9DT