1536 at Almeida Theatre Review

Siena Kelly (Anna). Photo credit: Helen Murray

Written by Penny for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

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Early in 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn suffered a miscarriage, losing a baby boy. With King Henry VIII desperate for a son and heir, this set the course for Anne’s downfall. The King’s attention had already turned to one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting, Jane Seymour. At the beginning of May, Anne was arrested on charges of adultery, incest and treason. Rumours abounded that she had used witchcraft to seduce Henry into their marriage.

Ava Pickett’s debut play takes these events and uses them to frame the story of three young women living in rural Essex. Although they are a long way from the drama playing out in London, there are clear and terrifying parallels with their own lives.

Designer Max Jones has created a simple set that is the perfect backdrop for the play – a dry corner of a field with a dead tree trunk an imposing landmark. The word that comes to mind is “barren”, calling to mind not only a bleak landscape but also an obsession with female fertility in a time when producing a healthy son and heir was the one aspiration expected of a woman.

The set is complemented perfectly by Jack Knowles’ lighting design – reflecting the mood of the action, it takes us from a mild afternoon through dark clouds forming and builds towards a blood red sunset. Scene changes are marked with blackouts, leaving the stage framed with white lights. With each blackout, Will Stuart’s powerful soundtrack crashes in at full volume – it’s jarring, disturbing and highly effective at either breaking or anticipating a mood.

The script is outstanding. Pickett has written three women who are clearly rooted in the 16th Century in which the play is set – but their language and interactions are completely contemporary. Their conversations are peppered with swearing, banter and the sort of interactions you’d expect from a group of modern “Essex girls”. But, preparing to meet the man to whom she is betrothed, Jane does not “go Westfield” to buy the latest fashion, she marks the occasion by washing her neck. The first half of the play is full of humour like this, offering a slice of everyday life that feels very relatable. It is only as more news arrives from London about Anne Boleyn’s fate (always a couple of days late as there are no instant updates to be found on social media!), that the tension rises and the bleak outlook for these women becomes clear.

The three initially thrive on gossip, from the village and from London, but this gossip takes a darker turn with local women being burned alive for adultery and increasing violence towards them from the men in their lives, perhaps emboldened by the King’s violent solution to the wife he has tired of. As the tension builds, audience laughter changes to gasps of shock.

Lyndsey Turner’s direction has fantastic pace – the quick-fire banter between the women is a stark contrast with the silences that puncture their interactions with the play’s two male characters. Diction is crystal clear and, working alongside Movement and Intimacy Director Anna Morrissey, the characters’ physical interactions are very natural. The play is performed in one act, running at just under two hours, but it does not feel too long as it grabs our attention from the start and the energy does not drop.

For all that the play focuses on the three women, their lives are dominated by men, represented here by the supporting roles of the moral William (Angus Cooper) and cocky lothario Squire Richard (Adam Hugill). Cooper and Hugill have limited stage time but make a big impact in their interactions with the women, and it is clear early on that it is the men’s actions that will shape the women’s lives. For after all, if a King can kill his Queen, what hope does an ordinary woman have?

The three women are played to perfection. We meet the beautiful Anna (Siena Kelly), thriving on male attention and getting a reputation in the village for loose morals. The naïve Jane (Liv Hill) wants to be a “good” wife, seeing herself as plain and aware she’s only a good marriage choice because of her dowry. And Mariella (Tanya Reynolds) is the sensible one, she has lost her love due to her low standing in society and is now a Midwife, delivering those precious heirs for the wives in the community. They are close friends but clear and distinct individuals, each given a moment in the spotlight to tell us something of their personal stories and each absolutely shines whether in their own story or as a part of the whole.

1536 is a phenomenal piece of theatre – with imaginative staging, great pace and excellent performances from the five cast members. The use of contemporary language makes it feel very relevant to modern society - highlighting the devastating consequences of violent misogyny. By using Anne Boleyn, surely one of British history’s most maligned women, as a hook it issues an important warning that resonates across the ages.

1536 runs at the Almeida Theatre until Saturday 7th June 2025. Limited tickets are available as most performances are sold out but check the theatre’s website for returns and updates.

★★★★★