1536
Rating: ★★★★★
Venue: Ambassador's Theatre, London
Cast: Harry Bradley, Liv Hill, Oliver Johnstone, Siena Kelly, George Kemp, Saroja-Lily Ratnavel, Tanya Reynolds and Sydney Spencer

Tudor England. A field in Essex. Three women hurry to their childhood meeting place, thirsty for gossip from London. Word spreads of a clash between King Henry VIII and his Queen, Anne Boleyn. And closer to home, another rumour begins to catch fire.

As these women begin to see echoes of the royal drama in their own rural lives and a rise in violence spreads throughout the land, the actions of a queen imprisoned in a tower threaten to cost them everything.

“Women don’t need to be clever, they need to be good”.

The Ambassadors Theatre is currently hosting what just might be the show of the summer. This is a show that is expertly woven together by Ava Pickett’s perfect script, Lyndsey Turner’s direction, and stellar performances from our three leading ladies (Liv Hill, Siena Kelly, and Tanya Reynolds).

In the summer of 1536, three young women in an Essex village are learning about the arrest of Anne Boleyn for the first time. Amongst the laughter, the jokes, the sex and the gossip that ensues in these women’s lives, the looming threat of Anne Boleyn’s trial is a throughline that ties the women together, first bringing them closer, and progressively tying their friendship in knots before shattering them completely.

The show opens with Anna (Siena Kelly) dressed in typical 16th century garb, propped against a tree and salaciously wrapped around a man. As soon as the lights go up, the audience knows they’re in for a ride. Soon after the introduction, we meet Jane (Liv Hill), ditsy and the less intellectual of the three girls, who is focused on being a good woman, planning to get married and settle in their village. After a cracking tennis match of one liners, and pristine delivery between Anna and Jane, the third woman in our trio enters carrying a large bag of dirty linens and bloodied scissors - enter Mariella (Tanya Reynolds), our deadpan, sensible midwife. The girls plop down together and chats ensue, with Jane eventually bringing the hottest gossip to the girls - rumour has it that the King has arrested his wife. The three toss this notion around - can this be true? That’s not legal, is it? A man who moved heaven and earth just to marry Anne, wouldn't do this, surely!

This news of Anne Boleyn’s arrest and the impact of her imprisonment, her trial, the men who came forward, it all becomes a throughline for the girls as they navigate their daily lives and routines. As it becomes progressively clearer that the King is in fact taking Anne Boleyn through a trial, that the whole of England creates this narrative around Anne committing treason, and being referred to as The Great Whore, the women become increasingly concerned for their futures. More specifically, Jane and Mariella are concerned that Anna, who speaks openly, lives freely, and sleeps around with men, will not be safe with the changing of the times.

One of the most impressive parts of this production is how the show begins with such fantastic banter between the characters, fantastically written, and helping the audience to feel like they were apart of the girls’ conversations. The chemistry between Hill, Kelly and Reynolds was just fantastic and while I feel that we often get to see the magic of this level of chemistry on screen, it is an absolute treat to see it on stage.

As time passes, the audience learns that Jane is to be wed to the man, Richard, that Anna has been seeing out in the fields. Unfortunately, Anna continues the affair well into Jane and Richard’s engagement.

Now feels like the time to mention how crucial the lighting, sound, and set design are; especially once the tide begins to turn and the tone of the show shifts into something sinister. The droning ambience, the sunset, all subtle changes that mirrored the uneasiness that was ripping through these women’s lives, especially Anna’s. Anna delivers a small monologue in which she asks ‘is the air changing?’ in relation to the changes that are happening in their village - the way men are treating women, the way they see the men in their lives lying to protect themselves, spinning narratives to fit around their desires. I walked away thinking about the line ‘is the air changing?’ and quite honestly, thinking about how many women nearly 500 years later, across the globe, are in positions where they are thinking and feeling the same way. I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss how impressive the performance from Oliver Johnstone is. His delivery had the audience riddled with tension, and while he was undeniably a villain in this story, the impact of his role is unmatched.

For me, the standout and breathtaking performance of the evening came from Jane, who spun things around in a way the audience was not expecting. This character, who had been a small, quiet, good woman suddenly became large, loud and empowered albeit for the wrong reasons. Her closing performance of the evening had me gasping and wide eyed, desperate for these women to be living in another time where they could be safer, could live less fearfully, and not be in a position of having to turn on one another.

1536 draws you in with an air of girlhood and witty banter, letting you feel right at home with Jane, Anna and Mariella. By the end of the evening, the show is everything you thought it wouldn’t be, and it is electric. This a tale of survival for three women who were living through a time of unprecedented change. This show is everything you’ll want and more, so grab your tickets before 1536 becomes a deservedly sold out run this summer. Now playing at Ambassadors Theatre until 1 August.

You can book tickets to see 1536 here.

Review by Miranda

**photo credit: Helen Murray**