The Mirror and the Light Reviews

Anne Wilson from London, England

THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT

A wonderful production at the Gielgud theatre. All the actors brought history to life. The acting was brilliant and you could hear every word even at the back of the theatre. This was a performance where you hung onto everything that was said even when you knew what the end would be. The theatre was beautiful and so atmospheric and all the staff were helpful. So wonderful to have this introduction back into live performances. Congratulations to all.

Perry from London, England

THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE

An excellent adaptation of a great novel. The staging was atmospheric, the lighting served to enhance the performances and there was just the right amount of humour to prevent this becoming a melancholy tale. The cast played their parts well and were wholly believable. The language was stylised enough to give the impression of Tudor England while retaining enough modernity to make the play feel fresh and relevant. Definitely worth a visit.

S Ashton from Shropshire

SADLY DISAPPOINTING

This production suffers by comparison with the TV adaptations of the first two novels in the trilogy. The stage portrayals of both Cromwell and Henry are weaker : Henry more comic than mercurial , and consequently less terrifying, and Cromwell less nuanced and so less intriguing.

George Gilbertson from London, England

NO INTRIGUE, NO SUSPENSE

We had high expectations, even at the first preview night - and the central performance by Ben Miles didn't disappoint. What let the evening down was the script, which desperately attempted to cram far too much of Mantel's novel into more than two-and-a-half hectic, at times almost cartoonish hours. Anyone looking for the subtlety, political intrigue or suspense of the novels or the BBC's earlier Mantel adaptations should look elsewhere. Nothing seemed to be at stake here, so there was no drama. The wafer-thin supporting characters did things because that's what they did in the book, rather than because of any theatrical need. And some of the cast seemed to have wandered in from a rehearsal for Carry On Cromwell, to judge by their ill-judged performances (and accents). By the end, my partner and I were willing the axeman's blade to fall so that we could go home and escape the Gielgud Theatre's oppressive heat.

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