THEATRE
ROYAL GAMBIT:
Henry VIII and His Six Wives
by Jim Reyland
W
as he a bloodthirsty English monarch?
Yes. Was he willing to remove anyone or anything that got in his way? Yes. Did Henry VIII in his own violent, self-serving, and tyrannical way change the world? Did he force his contemporaries and their descendants to consider themselves in a new light? You decide. In January, Christ Church Cathedral, as part of its Sacred Space for the City arts series, will present Royal Gambit: Henry VIII and His Six Wives, reopening the case of Henry VIII. Was he madman or reformer? Rod Streng, co-director, gets the conversation started. “Gressieker’s Royal Gambit provides a platform for the exploration and discussion of the role of intellectual history in shaping the human experience.” The play claims “to present some aspects of our modern age,” but thankfully the script avoids being pedantic and offers, rather than a clear philosophy, only suggestions and subtle hints for grappling with our anxiety about the future, the ambiguity of our present, and our guilt regarding the past.”
PHOTOGRAPH: KAREN ROGERS
There is much to discuss. Shakespeare wrote at length about Henry VIII. He found him to be extremely interesting, dramatically and otherwise. To begin, Henry VIII married his brother’s widow and then divorced her because she couldn’t give him a son. Thinking he might be cursed by this divorce and unable to have a male heir, he tried to get an annulment. The Pope and the Catholic Church said no, and so Henry started his own Church of England with himself as God’s representative on Earth. He then married his mistress, Anne Boleyn, still with no son and eventually no head for Anne Boleyn. What ensued was a political and religious fiasco. In the end, Henry ordered the beheadings of some of the top political minds of the day, a few cardinals, at least one
“The world of the play is filled with important ideas . . . the dialogue often centers on the humanistic view of man’s destiny as opposed to the more spiritual course.” – Ted Swindley, co-director