The first act takes a while to crank into gear, and Hodge doesn’t always accommodate some of the show’s visual riffs ... to a cast who rarely seem to inhabit the same play.
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Casting Bea Segura, a Spanish actor in the role [of Catherine of Aragon] further renders the historical woman more real to us now. All the profound, well-wrought speeches are an actor’s dream. Henry VIII [is] a very clever, funny and absorbing two and a half hours of pure theatre magic.
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Though it has flashes of brilliance, Amy Hodge’s splashy, revisionist, female-focused staging makes Shakespeare’s troublesome late history play even more of a mess. There’s enough going on here to please nerds and Shakespeare completists, but I can’t honestly recommend it to anyone else.
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The play itself feels slightly disjointed. It is worth seeing this production for curiosity value alone but dramatically it feels like a lesser performed work for a reason.
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Do what needs to be done to make a middling play sizzle. Dramatically, though, nothing much does. Georgia Lowe’s purple and gold design is one of several successes of staging.
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Hodge's production has a slight sense of hurling everything at the wall to see what sticks. It's messy but appealing, and about as subtle as being smacked over the head ... but you're unlikely to be bored.
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Amy Hodge’s production is bawdy and more-or-less ahistorical, playing a bit like a pastiche. The production is probably most effective when it eschews the gimmicks. Debbie Korley and Anna Savva are good value as a pair of gossiping ragamuffins.
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This production valiantly transcends the scratchiness of the script with a bold aesthetic, punchy performances and a well-judged musical score. Even with Khalil’s additions this work will never be ranked as one of Shakespeare’s greats, but it’s worth a look.
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