Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies

"The greatest modern English prose writer working today"

Sir Peter Stothard, Chairman of the Man Booker Prize, on Hilary Mantel

Hilary Mantel's novels are the most formidable literary achievements of recent times, both recipients of the Man Booker Prize

This is Mike Poulton's two-part Stage adaptation of both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies

He brings to the stage a thrilling and utterly convincing portrait of a brilliant man embroiled in the lethal, high-stakes politics of the Court of Henry VIII ...

Thomas Cromwell - son of a blacksmith, political genius, briber, charmer, bully

A man with a deadly expertise in manipulating people and events

Wolf Hall - Large Mixed Cast

England, 1527

Henry V111 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

And for a man with the right talents, this crisis would is a great opportunity ...

Thomas Cromwell - a commoner who has risen in Wolsey's household - is such a man and he will stop at nothing to secure the King's desires and advance his own ambitions

Bring Up the Bodies - Large Mixed Cast

The volatile Anne Boleyn is now Queen, her career seemingly entwined with that of Cromwell

But when the King begins to fall in love with plain Jane Seymour, the ever-pragmatic Cromwell must negotiate within an increasingly perilous Court to satisfy Henry, defend the nation and - above all - secure his own rise in the world

The plays were premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company in December 2013

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

REVIEWS

" ... a gripping piece of narrative theatre ... this is history made manifest" ~ Guardian

"Mike Poulton's script brings the intrigues and political machinations to the stage with clarity, wit and plenty of very welcome humour ... an exemplary piece of work" ~ WhatsOnStage

" ... enthralling ... splendidly entertaining and at times deeply touching" ~ Telegraph