A Man for All Seasons (play)
A Man for All Seasons | |
---|---|
Written by | Robert Bolt |
Characters | The Common Man Sir Thomas More The Duke of Norfolk Thomas Cromwell Henry VIII Margaret More William Roper Cardinal Thomas Wolsey Alice More Thomas Cranmer Richard Rich Signor Chapuys |
Date premiered | 1 July 1960 (London) |
Place premiered | Globe Theatre |
Original language | English |
Setting | Sixteenth century England |
A Man for All Seasons is a play by
It was first performed in London opening at the
The plot is based on the historical events leading up to the execution of
The play portrays More as a man of principle, envied by rivals such as
Title
The title reflects 20th-century agnostic playwright Robert Bolt's portrayal of More as the ultimate man of conscience. As one who remains true to himself and his beliefs while adapting to all circumstances and times, despite external pressure or influence, More represents "a man for all seasons". Bolt borrowed the title from Robert Whittington, a contemporary of More's, who in 1520 wrote of him:
- "More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning. I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes, and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons."[2]
Themes
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A Man for All Seasons struggles with ideas of identity and conscience. More argues repeatedly that a person is defined by his conscience. His own position is depicted as almost indefensible; the Pope is described as a "bad" and corrupt individual, forced by the Emperor Charles V to act according to his will. But as More says to Norfolk, "What matters is not that it's true, but that I believe it; or no, not that I believe it, but that I believe it." More fears that if he breaks with his conscience, he will be damned to hell, while his associates and friends are more concerned with holding onto their own temporal power.
At another key point of the play, More testifies before an inquiry committee and Norfolk attempts to persuade him to sign the
Norfolk:
- Oh, confound all this. ... I'm not a scholar, as Master Cromwell never tires of pointing out, and frankly, I don't know whether the marriage was lawful or not. But damn it, Thomas, look at those names. ... You know those men! Can't you do what I did, and come with us, for fellowship?
More:
- And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned for not doing according to mine, will you come with me - for "fellowship"?
More's persecution is made to seem even more unjust by the inclusion of Eustace Chapuys, the long-time Imperial ambassador to England, in the story. Chapuys recognizes More as a stout man of the church, and in Act II, after More's resignation from the Chancellorship, he informs More of a planned rebellion along the Scottish border, expecting More to be sympathetic. Instead, More informs Norfolk of the plot, showing him to be patriotic and loyal to the King. This, along with More's refusal to speak out against the King, shows him to be a loyal subject, and thus Cromwell appears to prosecute him out of personal spite and because he disagrees with the King's divorce.
Bolt also establishes an anti-authoritarian theme which recurs throughout his works. All people in positions of power – King Henry, Cromwell, Wolsey, Cranmer, Chapuys, even Norfolk – are depicted as being either corrupt, evil, or at best expedient and power-hungry. Bolt's later plays and film screenplays also delve into this theme. The theme of corruption is also illustrated, in Rich's rise to power, the Common Man being drawn into the events of the storyline, and in the (deliberately) anachronistic portrayal of Henry as a younger, athletic man (in 1530 he would have been almost forty and already putting on weight).
Although it is the law that eventually forces More's execution, the play also makes several powerful statements in support of the rule of law. At one point More's future son-in-law, Roper, urges him to arrest Richard Rich, whose perjury will eventually lead to More's execution. More answers that Rich has broken no law, "And go he should if he were the Devil himself until he broke the law!" Roper is appalled at the idea of granting the Devil the benefit of law, but More is adamant.
- "What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? ... And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you – where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's, and if you cut them down – and you're just the man to do it – do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!"
The character of the Common Man serves as a narrator and framing device. A
- "the sixteenth century was the century of the Common Man-like all the other centuries."
Bolt created the Common Man for two main reasons: to illustrate the place and influence of the average person in history, even though they are usually overlooked, and to try to prevent the audience from sympathising with the more titled characters such as More, realising that the audience is more closely related to him—a classic case of Brechtian
Endings
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Two different endings were written by Bolt. The original ending, performed during the show's preliminary run in England, had Cromwell and Chapuys confront each other after More's execution and then exit the stage, hand in hand, chuckling with "the self-mocking, self-indulgent, rather rueful laughter of the men who know what the world is and how to be comfortable in it".
This particular ending is exemplary of Bolt's notion of "riding with the current", as is demonstrated by "men who know what the world is and how to be comfortable in it", forsaking one's conscience in exchange of a life of "convenience". For the show's London production – and most, if not all, subsequent runs of the show – the Common Man sheds his executioner's garb and addresses the audience one final time:
- "... It isn't difficult to keep alive, friends – just don't make trouble – or if you must make trouble, make the sort of trouble that's expected... If we should bump into one another, recognize me."
The film version of the play ends with More's execution, followed by a narrator reading off the fates of the various characters involved (originally, this was dialogue spoken by the Common Man prior to the Tower of London Inquiry).
Stage productions
The original West End cast, playing at the Globe Theatre (now Gielgud Theatre), included:
- The Common Man – Leo McKern
- Sir Thomas More – Paul Scofield
- Richard Rich – John Brown
- Duke of Norfolk – Alexander Gauge
- Alice More– Wynne Clark
- Margaret – Pat Keen
- Cardinal Wolsey – Willoughby Goddard
- Thomas Cromwell – Andrew Keir
- Chapuys – Geoffrey Dunn
- Attendant – Brian Harrison
- Will Roper – John Carson
- Henry VIII – Richard Leech
- Woman – Beryl Andrews
- Archbishop Cranmer – William Roderick
In London, Man ran simultaneously to another of Bolt's plays, The Tiger and the Horse. Both plays were major hits, although Horse was the more successful of the two. British critical reaction was largely positive, albeit reservedly so; few reviews at the time regarded the play as a classic. The show ran for 320 performances.
In the US, the play was first performed on Broadway on 22 November 1961, at the
Original Broadway cast
- The Common Man – George Rose
- Sir Thomas More – Paul Scofield
- The Duke of Norfolk – Albert Dekker
- Thomas Cromwell – Leo McKern (later Thomas Gomez)
- King Henry VIII – Keith Baxter
- Margaret More – Olga Bellin
- William Roper– Peter Brandon
- Catherine Anger – Sarah Burton
- Attendant – John Colenback
- Cardinal Wolsey – Jack Creley
- Alice More- Carol Goodner
- Thomas Cranmer – Lester Rawlins
- Richard Rich – William Redfield
- Signor Chapuys – David J. Stewart
The Broadway production was a huge hit, running for 620 performances. While the play had drawn mixed critical reviews in London, it was almost unanimously praised by the New York critics, who showered it with plaudits and awards. At the 16th Annual Tony Awards, the production earned four nominations, winning in all four categories it was nominated, including Tonys for Bolt, Scofield, and Willman.[5]
Leo McKern played the Common Man in the West End version of the show, but was shifted to the role of Cromwell for the Broadway production – a role he later reprised in the film. While playing Cromwell, he appeared with one brown and one blue eye (McKern of course had lost an eye in an accident and wore a glass one) to accentuate his character's evil nature.
Charlton Heston played More in several versions of the play-off-Broadway in the 1970s and 1980s, eventually playing it in the West End. The play was a success and the West End production was taken to Aberdeen, Scotland, for a week where it was staged at His Majesty's Theatre. Heston considered it among his favourite roles. He also produced, directed, and starred in a film version of it (see below). The production gained a sort of notoriety when Dustin Hoffman spread the story that Heston, who was bald, was so vain that he wore a wig over his hairpiece, rather than let the public view his actual bald pate.
Another famous graduate of the play is Ian McKellen, whose first theatrical role was as Will Roper in a revival production in the late 1960s. He would go on to play More in a later run of the show. Faye Dunaway also made her stage debut as a replacement Margaret in the original Broadway run.
An acclaimed Canadian production starring William Hutt and directed by Walter Learning was presented at the Vancouver Playhouse and the Stratford Festival in 1986. At Stratford the production was paired with a production of Shakespeare's Henry VIII, with both plays sharing many actors, and showing two perspectives on historical events.
The play was staged in London's West End at the
A Broadway revival of the show, produced by the
In 2008, Thomas More was also portrayed on stage in
Film and television movies
The play was
1966 film
1988 film
The 1988 version starred Charlton Heston (who also directed it) as More, Vanessa Redgrave (who appeared briefly and mutely in the 1966 version as Anne Boleyn) as More's wife, and Sir John Gielgud as Cardinal Wolsey. By coincidence, Gielgud's name now graces the former Globe Theatre, where the original play premiered in 1960.
Radio productions
The play was produced, with the following cast, as the Saturday Night Theatre on BBC Home Service on 28 February 1959:
- Sir Thomas More — John Franklyn-Robbins
- Master Richard Rich — Michael Cox
- Master Thomas Cromwell— David Mahlowe
- Cardinal Wolsey — Ralph Hallett
- King Henry VIII — David Scase
- Duke of Norfolk — David Sumner
- Dame Alice More— Cynthia Grenville
- Mistress Margaret (Meg) More — Marah Stohl
- Archbishop Thomas Cranmer — Stephen MacDonald
- The Bishop of Bath — Christopher Benjamin
- The Bishop of Durham — Bernard Kay
The play was produced, with the following cast, as the
- Sir Thomas More — Charles Dance
- Master Julian Rhind Tutt
- Master Thomas Cromwell — Kenneth Cranham
- Cardinal Wolsey — Timothy Bateson
- King Henry VIII — Brian Cox
- Nicholas le Prevost
- Master William Roper — Martin Freeman
- Alice More — Kika Markham
- Mistress Margaret (Meg) More — Romola Garai
- Boatman/Steward (aka Matthew) /Jailer — Dan Chyutin
- Archbishop Thomas Cranmer/Headsman — Peter Tate
- Catherine of Aragon — Adjoa Andoh
See also
- Trial movies
- Cultural depictions of Henry VIII of England
References
- ^ "A Man for All Seasons Listing" InternetMovieDatabase, accessed 23 August 2011
- ^ "A Man for all Seasons: an Historian's Demur". Catholiceducation.org. 4 December 1977. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ Bolt, Robert (1963) [1960]. Wood, E.R. (ed.). A Man for All seasons (The Hereford Plays ed.). London: Heinemann. pp. xviii.
- ^ Theatre World 2008-2009: The Most Complete Record of the American Theatre. Hal Leonard. 2009. p. 35.
- ^ "Winners / 1962". www.tonyawards.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Cox, Gordon (21 May 2008). "Frank Langella to be 'Man' on B'way – Entertainment News, Legit News, Media – Variety". Variety.com. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9783865963567.