Chichester Festival Theatre – until 11th May 2024
Reviewed by Sally Lumley
4****
Chichester Festival Theatre, under new artistic director Justin Audibert, have opened their 2024 Festival season with The Other Boleyn Girl, based on the novel by Philippa Gregory.
This is the story of the three Boleyn children – Mary (Lucy Phelps), Anne (Freya Mavor) and George (James Corrigan) – and their lives as protagonists and pawns in the perilous Tudor court under King Henry VIII. Born in a time when men held all the power, and women’s key duties were advantageous marriage and providing heirs, Mary and Anne are seen struggling to control their own destinies and achieve their own, very different, ambitions.
The three lead actors are all exceptional in their roles. We feel both the close sibling bonds, and the competitiveness and jealousy which threatens to drive them apart. This production is unflinching, with Anne’s two miscarriages depicted on the stage, and the audience feels the desperation and vulnerability of these characters, so dependent on the whims of the King. Alex Kingston also stands out as their mother, Lady Elizbeth Boleyn. She depicts another woman doing her best to control the world around her. The juxtaposition between her version of motherhood and Mary’s is chilling but we can see both as victims in this ruthless Tudor Court.
The staging plays a key part in the dark world that is created here. At the back of the stage there is always someone lurking and listening, delivering the menace and conspiracy that pervades every moment at court. There are also huge swords hanging over the stage throughout, suggesting the looming inevitability of the ending that we all know must come. The play does, however, have many moments of humour, as well as live music and dance. These help to balance the darker moments of the nearly three hour run time.
Chichester Festival Theatre have produced a strong opener to their new season, and this has set the bar high for what is to follow.