A Wife For All Reasons

On a wet autumnal evening visiting Torrington town hall seemed normal enough but what awaited was a delightful experience!

When you visited the Oak Room you stepped back in time as you were immediately taken back to the Tudor period, with wooden panelling, paintings and furniture which gave a superb atmosphere, along with harp music of the period playing in the background!

The play consisted of a series of monologues delivered by the six wives of Henry V111

First was The Narrator/ Lady in Waiting ,the “glue” of the performance who introduced each Queen in turn with a brief and witty sentence or two, together with a carefully chosen piece of poetry all beautifully delivered by Jo Fallaize 

Catherine Of Aragon had an air of true royalty from the moment she walked in as befitted a Spanish princess and a queen of twenty years, she had a wonderful Spanish accent and a suitably regal and discreet costume to match her character. Her strength of character and her faith in her Church and her lineage shone through her words and while inviting some sympathy for her unfair treatment at the hands of the King what she most desired was respect. This queen was portrayed beautifully by Margaret Jewell 

Anne Boleyn (Elizabeth Harris), entered singing and was dressed just within decency, with a very low-cut dress complete with a pearl necklace decorated with the letter B. Her flirtatious portrayal lent credence to the many stories circulating during her life and after her death, but also sowed seeds of doubt as to their truth. She appeared to accept her fate with regret but a noticeable degree of courage.

Jane Seymour (Sarah Ford) entered the room having given birth to Edward and obviously very ill. Looking pale and wan, cuddling the baby she was so pleased was a son and heir which delighted the King. Jane was so different to her predecessors, gentle, sad, and dying, her chance to make her mark as queen consort had never arrived. The one thing she would be remembered for would be the provision of a prince.

After the interval, we were presented with Anne of Cleves. Janice Gist’s portrayal was stunning. Her appearance, her dress and her excellent accent. Despite the historical reference to Henry’s “Flanders Mare” Anne was, perhaps surprisingly, the most interesting of the Six Wives, intelligent, clever,philosophical.strong and also a Princess by birth, she managed to survive everyone else including Henry and his son Edward and befriend the two future queens, Mary and Elizabeth.   Janice Gist commanded the stage all the way through. A memorable performance    

Kathryn Howard (Emma Berridge) was extremely convincing, spending her last night in the tower and practising how to use the block!  She was so young, so naïve and so vulnerable. Practically a child and with no say in her own life, married to a sick old man and after succumbing to understandable temptation paid the ultimate price 

She held us in the palm of her hand, listening to every word she spoke, and when real tears rolled down her cheeks we wept with her. A moving and convincing performance.  

Finally, Katherine Parr (Liz Drayton) survived!  Married to her true love in the end, her affection and sympathy for Henry, surprising even to her, showed through.  Looking every inch, the part and beautifully dressed this portrayal was carried out with aplomb!

Every monologue was a great performance. All so different and beautifully portrayed. A lot of dialogue to learn and to interpret.      

The script was simply superb and my congratulations go to the very talented Stephanie Easton whose imagination, research and writing resulted in this most enjoyable and clever performance. It was privilege to be there, and I hope that some other societies may be able to use this script and be given the chance to stage it in other areas. Torrington is fortunate to have had the chance to put this on and to have a talent like     Stephanie in their midst  

Many congratulations to all concerned on what was a memorable evening for all the right reasons!

Graham Liverton 

Regional Councillor NODA Southwest

 

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