Review: Vibrant and full-on: RSC take on Mantel’s novels at Stratford theatre

Award-winning author Hilary Mantel was in the audience for the official debut of the two plays created by the Royal Shakespeare Company from her best-selling books.

Diminutive and obviously enjoying the time she’d spent with the actors who had brought her historical characters to life, Ms Mantel confessed it would probably be another two years before readers can expect the last in her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell.

“I have to get it absolutely right,” she said.

Perhaps the greatest glory of the Mantel novels is their wealth of fine detail on Tudor life and morals.

But as each play is nearly three hours long, the RSC can spare little time for the fine detail as its great cast of characters in glorious costumes have to keep driving the story forward. And the story is something we already know.

To compensate, RSC director Jeremy Herrin has honed in on the humour - and added more. We do get a sense of what a man like Cromwell might find amusing or absurd, like contemporary jokes about the flat-chested Anne Boleyn, who is played with fire and verve by Lydia Leonard, and the nunnery that Katherine of Aragon tells him she is prepared to enter - so long as the king agrees to go into a monastry.

In Wolf Hall, there is a cruel and wonderful court masquerade about the demise of Wolsey as devils come to drive him into the mouth of hell.

And Bring Up The Bodies starts with a recreation of a falconry scene from the opening chapter, and there are galloping sound effects to give authenticity to the joust taking place just off stage.

Lovers of the novels should really enjoy these two crowded, vibrant dramatisations. But even pared down, they each last two hours 55 minutes and are not for the faint-hearted. But the humour really helps. And a cushion might come in handy.

Barbara Goulden